


Sword Art Online: Frontier Mira

by SilentEagle3



Category: Sword Art Online, Xenoblade Chronicles X
Genre: Action, Betrayal, Canonical Character Death, Crossover, Cyborgs, Destruction of Earth, F/M, Post-Canon, Temporary Character Death, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-08-22 20:33:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8299990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilentEagle3/pseuds/SilentEagle3
Summary: (SAO X Xenoblade Chronicles X) The world has been craving the next step forward in VRMMO gaming, and with the arrival of the brand new installment, Xenoblade Chronicles VX, this may be just what they needed. But complications quickly arise, as a direct system attack causes global servers to fail, locking all players in the game. How will Kirito and company survive in this new world?I'm not dead, I promise. Just really bad at keeping a schedule.





	1. The White Whale

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: I should probably make clear what's going to be different from Xenoblade X's canon. First, the class system will exist, but to add variety to weapons early on, the Striker, Commando, and Enforcer classes will be skipped, having a new fourth tier in their place. Next, Skells will move like Gundams, as they do in certain cutscenes. Finally, skills will likely have little role in the story.

It's been a while since the release of a new VRMMO. Many players felt their old games getting stale, even with the regular content updates. In Alfheim Online, the biggest challenge ever since the original release, New Aincrad, had been cleared. Kazuto Kirigaya, known by the name Kirito, now was left with little to do there. His friend, Shino Asada, known as Sinon, had returned to her own adventures in Gun Gale Online, while the rest of his friends continued to find what enjoyment they could out of ALO.  
  
The answer to their problem had been answered one day, as they sat in the Dicey Cafe, talking about where to go next. On the news, a reporter had been discussing a new VRMMO, set to release in a week. Xenoblade Chronicles VX. A futuristic RPG taking place on an alien world. This is just the thing Kirito needed to liberate himself from boredom.  
  
“Hey, that looks pretty interesting. You guys want to try it out?”  
  
Kazuto's best friend, Ryotarou Tsuboi, named Klein online, got up from his seat. “Of course I do! But I'm not waiting in line for hours again.”  
  
“Okay, that's not a problem. Who does want to?”  
  
No one spoke up. Kirito sighed. “Alright, fine.” He pulled out his phone and set a reminder on the day of the game's release.  
  
When that day came, and Kirito had bought the copies of Xenoblade, he immediately ran back to the Dicey Cafe, where his friends were waiting for distribution. He came running in the door, heavily panting, with a small bag by his side.  
  
“I'm... here!”  
  
Kirito's girlfriend, Asuna, walked up to his side and took his arm. “What's got you so tired?”  
  
Still panting, Kirito turned to her. “Sorry... had to beat the rush hour here.”  
  
Asuna guided him to one of the cafe tables, where he set the bag and his body down. After recovering his energy, Kirito emptied the bag onto the table, showing eight copies of the game, one for each of the group, including one of the managers in the cafe. He handed each one out, keeping track of the total cost.  
  
“You guys owe me a lot for this. It was a lot more expensive than I thought.”  
  
Rika, who goes by Lisbeth, stood looking at the box. “How bad could it be? If it's just another MMO.”  
  
“7000 Yen, per game.”  
  
“Wow, and then there's the subscription fee. Alright, I'll find a way to pay you back.”  
  
Sinon put the game underneath her arm, as if it were a book. “So when shall we start it?”  
  
Suguha, Kirito's sister, leaned over the table. “Why not later tonight?”  
  
Everyone agreed upon this, and called Agil, one of the caretakers of the cafe, to see if he wanted to join. He told them that he could, but only a little after everyone else, while he closed up shop. They spent a little more time talking about other things, then left to each of their homes.  
  
Kirito and Suguha arrived at their house, and each went to their rooms. Kirito's AmuSphere was perched on a shelf, high up on the wall. He pulled it down, rolled onto his bed, and placed the device on his head. Closing his eyes, he spoke two words.  
  
“Link Start!”  
  
Colored cylinders flew past Kirito's eyes, while the AmuSphere established a connection to the servers. His vision went dark, until a room lit up around him. Menus flashed on each part of his body, while a mirror image appeared in the center of the room. This must have been the avatar creation screen. Unlike Gun Gale, there was no conversion option, so everyone would have to start fresh. Kirito changed the default options to match his own face, all while wondering if Yui, the AI who had imprinted on Kirito and Asuna, would be present in the game. After finishing his avatar, the room went dark again, and became extremely small. Kirito felt a harness close around him, while he was thrown around in the small room, feeling light G-forces working on his body.  
  
About 5 minutes later, the shaking ended. A red light began flashing above Kirito, indicating a button. He pushed it, and a hatch opened in front of him, revealing a tight, grassy canyon, and a rainy sky. Kirito removed his harness, and hopped out of the pod. Lightning cracked, and thunder boomed above, while he checked his surroundings.  
  
“No sign of anyone else.”  
  
Kirito turned back to his pod, checking the interior. Inside, he found an assault rifle, and a knife.  
  
“A rifle? It looks a little strange.”  
  
He took both weapons out of the pod, holstering the knife on his hip, and inspecting the rifle. The gun looked very different from the ones he had seen in Gun Gale, with a circular handguard, and a long grip near the barrel.  
  
“Where's the trigger on this thing?”  
  
He slipped his hand in the guard, where he felt a curved trigger. Kirito raised the gun upward, pointing it toward the sky, while he covered his left ear with his free hand. Three trigger pulls fired three bullets into the air, at a very audible volume.  
  
“That's got a kick to it. Not bad.”  
  
At that point, Kirito heard what sounded like an insect's cry behind him. He quickly turned to what was a giant gray roach.  
  
“Giant bugs, eh? Well, no better time to test the combat.”  
  
When Kirito raised his rifle, multiple elements appeared on his display. In the top left corner of his vision, there were various bars, and his name.  
  
“Okay, these must be health, experience, and... what else?”  
  
On the top of the screen, there was information on the enemy, it's health, level, and name.  
  
“Origin Blatta? Odd name.”  
  
Finally, at the bottom of his vision were many different elements. There were nine circles, of varying sizes. The biggest one was in the center, and it showed a blank image. On each side, there were two mid-sized circles, containing a yellow and orange symbol. Finally, there were six small, empty circles, three on each side. Above that were two pieces, the one on the right naming the weapon Kirito was holding, and his positioning compared to his enemy. On the left, there were bars for his HP, TP, and Morale Level.  
  
“Time to get fighting.”  
  
He shot a whole clip of ammo into the Blatta, draining it's health one-fifth. The green bar underneath his HP began filling up as each bullet hit. While Kirito was shooting, the Blatta charged at Kirito, it's pincers closed. After he drained his clip, the bug lunged at Kirito, opening it's pincers wide. He rolled to the side, taking no damage.  
  
“Doing good so far, but what do I have for skills?”  
  
Kirito looked down at the circular symbols. He selected the orange one, and took a peek at its description.  
  
“Assault Hammer?”  
  
He shifted his shoulder backward, and hit the Blatta with the butt of his rifle. It screeched into the air, as it fell onto its back. Kirito covered his ears to protect himself from the deafening scream, and watched it flail on the ground. He selected his other skill, Flame Grenade, to try and finish the creature off. Kirito pulled a bolt on the side of his rifle, knelt down, and shot an explosive projectile into the Blatta's stomach. Small embers burned, as it threw its legs more furiously, before dying down and bursting into crystals.  
  
“Whoa. That was a pretty cool fight.” He spoke as he lowered his gun.  
  
Not long after, three more cries emerged behind Kirito. From the cliffs above his pod, three more Blattas crawled down to attack. Kirito put away his rifle, and drew the knife from his hip.  
  
“I can take these guys, no-” He examined their level.  
  
“Level 23? Never mind, I need to run!”  
  
Kirito sheathed his knife, turned around, and sprinted through the rain. The three Blattas chased after him. After ducking behind a rock, he held his breath, waiting for the insects to pass by. After a few more minutes, there was only the sound of rain and thunder in Kirito's ears. He poked his head from behind, where huge mosquito-like creatures, hippos, and more Blattas inhabited.  
  
“With scaling like that, this place definitely isn't very tamed. I can't wait to see the later areas.”  
  
The rain was starting to lighten up, so Kirito began sneaking through the canyon. There came a point when he was spotted by one of the hippos, who was drinking from a small pond. It simply turned away and continued drinking.  
  
“Looks like a lot of the creatures aren't so hostile, either.”  
  
After this encounter, he stopped sneaking, and increased his pace. There was a wrecked jeep along the cliff side, to which Kirito walked toward.  
  
“Busted. Dang.” A prompt appeared in front of him, asking if he wished to search the wreckage. “Search? Okay, let's check this thing out.”  
  
Kirito investigated the vehicle, and found a lost piece of torso armor, along with 1000 credits and experience. It was enough to level him up, and level his... class?  
  
“A proper class system? As long as they have my usual. Looks like I learned a new skill, too.”  
  
He opened his menu, looking for his skills, named Arts in this game, to check the new addition. Chrome Armor, increases Physical Resistance. He also equipped the new armor, affecting his defense and resistances. It was a metal chest piece, with short, white and orange sleeves.  
  
Further down the canyon, there were two Blattas, much lower level than what he had encountered earlier, blocking the exit. Looks like the perfect time to test it. Kirito drew his assault rifle, aiming at the left bug, and fired a clip into it. When both of them began dashing toward him, he took out his knife, and raised in the air, activating Chrome Armor. He also ran toward them, holding his knife to his shoulder. When one Blatta leaped at Kirito, he thrust the knife forward, deflecting the creature's pincers, and dealing decent damage. Its assistant gnawed on Kirito's leg, draining his health somewhat. He knocked it off using Assault Hammer, then followed up with a Flame Grenade to kill it off. After that, he reloaded his rifle, and fired at the first bug. It flinched in the flurry of gunfire, and uncovered itself to see Kirito running at it. He kicked the Blatta, causing its front half to raise into the air, then drew his knife to slash at its stomach. It did enough damage to flip it onto its back, and twitch for a short time before dying. Unlike the other creatures, it didn't burst into shards, so Kirito shot one more bullet into its head.  
  
A menu popped up in front of him, showing two boxes. He opened them both, getting some materials from the monsters, and a new assault rifle. After equipping it, he sat, leaning against the cliff face, slightly exhausted.  
  
“I wonder how everyone else is doing. Especially Asuna. I'm pretty sure she doesn't take bugs well.”  
  
He stood up and exited the canyon after his short rest, then started running toward a promontory to get a look upon the much more open landscape. The rain had cleared up, and the clouds were beginning to do the same. When Kirito reached the edge of the rocks, he observed the land, seeing herds of boar-like creatures crossing the field. He turned his head to a nearby land bridge, where there were tall, lumbering creatures, that looked like tortoises with giant legs. Kirito felt the ground shake underneath him, as he looked upon a huge dinosaur raise its long neck from the ground. Above him, huge whales covered in translucent wings flew above him, with a majestic roar. On one side of the area were huge mountains, and even floating islands, and on the other, more flat land, including lakes and beaches.  
  
“Holy... this is amazing! All it's missing is flight!”  
  
Out by the shore, a large vessel, sitting atop a mass of turquoise crystals, stood out from the grassy landscape. Huge cranes poked out of the top of the structure, and on its side, there was an American flag, with the words “New L.A.” painted on the side.  
  
“Looks like a city. That must be where I need to reach.” He took note of the American flag. “Whoever developed this must be a fan of the West.”  
  
Kirito crouched down, and looked over the edge of the rock formation. In his mind, he was planning a route to the city, that went across a river, through some fields, and more areas that he couldn't see.  
  
“This drop doesn't look too bad. One last test. Does this game have fall damage?”  
  
Getting a running start, Kirito hopped off of the cliff, aiming for a piece of relatively flat land nearby. As he approached the ground, he tucked in his knees and rolled upon impact.  
  
“I guess not.”  
  
He looked at New L.A. from his lower viewpoint, and it seemed even more imposing than before. It was time to reach it, and hopefully find the rest of his group.


	2. New Los Angeles

Kirito ran further through the fields, along the path he had planned earlier. Along the river, he found creatures that seemed like otters, but with giant ears. He stopped to watch them stroll along the shore, even following them to a lake further down. Here, one of them jumped high into the air, and performed multiple flips before diving into the water. Towering above were the long-necked dinosaurs, taking a drink every so often. A group of four smaller specks were in the distance, with their features nearly impossible to make out.  
  
“Those must be some other players.” He turned back to the city. “Better not to mess with them. They probably aren’t so friendly.”  
  
Kirito climbed up a few rocks, to get another look at his route, this time seeing a bend leading to a cutaway in the crystal base. There was a crane, shipping containers, and what looked like a closed gate into the city. He began climbing down the rocks, before being spooked by the unfamiliar roar of a creature behind him. After falling from his vantage point, Kirito looked upon a trio of monsters. They appeared similar to muscular wolves, but with an armored top side and a spiked tail. The otter beasts started running away in fear, only to be chased down by the wolf pack. Kirito raised his gun to get the enemy display to appear once again, seeing that they were named Callow Grexes, and were much higher level than him. Aiming at the otters, the display changed the name to Lake Terebra, whose level was closer to Kirito’s  
  
The Grexes outran multiple of the Terebra, knocking them to the ground and biting their necks. After about five were killed, the Grexes began to feed on their carcasses. Kirito crouched down, and began slowly crawling past. He froze when one of them began sniffing the air, as if it detected a new threat. Holding his breath, he shifted his eyes to search for an escape route, but to no avail.  
  
He whispered to himself. “I guess it’s time to see the death mechanic in here.”  
  
Kirito stood up, and drew his rifle in an act of desperation. One Grex snarled at him, alerting its cohorts, so they all began charging at him. It pounced high into the air, beginning to spin around to attack with its spiky tail. Kirito aimed his rifle, trying to look for a weak point, but he was interrupted when the Grex was slammed out of the air by a red haired soldier carrying a shield. As the other two winced after seeing their leader toppled, one was shot by a sniper in the distance. Two more players, one dirty blonde male, with a green jacket, a large sword on his back, and an assault rifle in his hands, the other a blonde female, wearing a purple jacket, holding a knife, and holstering another assault rifle, stood in front of Kirito. The one with the knife spoke first.  
  
“Hey! You need any healing?”  
  
Kirito was still shocked by the events. “No, I’m still at full health.”  
  
“Then get out of here, and get to NLA!”  
  
“Can you take these guys on alone?”  
  
“Yes! Just run! Getting you back alive is all that matters right now!”  
  
Kirito stared above them to scan their level. They did seem strong enough to fight the Grexes, so he nodded, and began sprinting away from the battle at full speed, while the sounds of gunfire and clashing weapons roared behind him. The noise slowly faded away as he came closer and closer to the gates, which were tightly shut. There were a few NPCs drilling holes in the crystals, or directing cargo up a freight elevator. One of them heard Kirito calling to them, and turned to greet him. He held a device in his hands, that he put away upon reaching him.  
  
“Hey, who are you?”  
  
“I need to get inside the city.”  
  
Looking back to his device, the NPC returned a reply. “BLADE or civilian?”  
  
Kirito looked very confused. “Excuse me?”  
  
“Oh. A new player. Well, I'd let you into the city to get oriented, but the gate's closed from all the indigen activity. That's what we call the native life.”  
  
“So is there another way in?”  
  
The NPC pointed toward the freight elevator. “We can hoist you up that elevator with our next shipment of cargo. Mind waiting here while we load it?”  
  
“Okay... sure.”  
  
Kirito sat idle as he watched more NPCs load shipping containers. The crane spun the crates around, raising and lowering them to fit together like a massive puzzle. When there was one section left for another box, the foreman called to the crane operator.  
  
“Hold the line! We're hoisting up a player!”  
  
The crane went dead, and the NPC led Kirito onto the empty area. “Don't fall.”  
  
Kirito stood still on the elevator, not expecting it to shoot up as fast as it did. The crates kept stable, while Kirito felt forces not unlike the beginning of the game. Not long after, the elevator reached the top of the shaft. Kirito took a second to regain his composure, as more NPCs came to unload the crates.  
  
“Alright, we're unloading! As for you, go ahead and unload yourself.”  
  
Kirito walked off of the lift, past various construction workers, and through a small corridor to the inside of the city. He looked upon an unfinished platform, floating above the water on metal pillars. There were multiple districts, all bustling with player and NPC activity. One was filled with factories, another with housing and parks, and a third with shopping centers. In the west side, there was a district much higher up than the rest of the city, holding a gigantic tower. On it, there was a percentage, and a countdown above it. There were transport ships flying across the interior, allowing faster travel above the incomplete streets.  
  
“Did they leave the place unfinished on purpose?” Kirito turned to the tower. “Well, that tower looks like the government of this city. I should probably go there to find the rest of my friends.”  
  
He walked over to another elevator, and shot down the shaft as he did earlier. As his descent came to an end, he saw a large mech flying past, and a truck quickly tailing behind. Kirito decided to chase after them both.  
  
“Maybe flight really is in this game!”  
  
The mech looped beneath the pillars, and shot up from below. When it began ascending, Kirito noticed a smoke trail coming out of the exhaust. Nearby, a pink haired girl jumped out of the truck, wearing a red jacket, not unlike the soldiers that saved him earlier, white shorts, and black combat boots.  
  
“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!”  
  
She watched, horrified, as the mech crashed into the street, bouncing a couple of times before skidding to a stop. A hatch opened on its chest, where a coughing red haired man emerged. The girl ran toward him, pulling out a device similar to what the NPC at the gate used.  
  
“Klein! Are you okay?”  
  
He was still coughing up smoke. “Yeah, I'm okay, but what the heck happened in there? I started smelling exhaust!”  
  
“Exhaust? That doesn't seem right. I know I fixed most of the bugs before I cleared the launch... wait, look at this!”  
  
Klein hopped out of the cockpit, running to the pink hair's side. “What is it?”  
  
“The intakes and exhausts were reversed! I can't believe I missed that!”  
  
Klein seemed more disappointed than angry. “Dang it Lis, I could have been killed. Something wrong though? It's not like you to miss out on quality.”  
  
“You know I'm new to this job, especially since I'm working with mechs instead of swords now.”  
  
“Yeah, but haven't all those years in other MMOs helped you out?”  
  
Lis only shrugged, before turning to see Kirito running toward them.  
  
“Klein! Lis! Is that you?”  
  
The three of them ran toward each other, where upon meeting, Klein tackled Kirito into a massive bear hug.  
  
“Aw man, where have you been?”  
  
Kirito struggled in Klein's grip, gasping for air. After Klein loosened his grip, Kirito began to describe what he saw, and his thoughts on the systems and environments.  
  
“Sounds a lot like what we went through. We crashed on a field, not close by, obviously, and were stuck fighting a few bugs before coming here.”  
  
“Speaking of which, you've got a lot of explaining to do about that mech, and whatever BLADE is.”  
  
Lis stepped in front of Klein. “BLADE? Where did you hear that?”  
  
Kirito pointed toward the platform he was on earlier. “There was an NPC who asked me if I was a part of it.”  
  
“Well, long story short, it's the massive organization that the story revolves around. We can make squads, which are our guilds, our own parties, and become part of one of eight divisions.”  
  
“What about that mech?”  
  
Lis' eyes lit up. “I'm glad you asked!” She waved her hands toward the crashed mech. “These things, are Skells! Short for exoskeleton. They're the heavy artillery of the military, with customizable weapons and armor, vehicular and bipedal transformations, and we're even working on a flight module! Can you believe it?”  
  
Kirito stared longingly at the Skell. “Where can I get one of my own?”  
  
Lis' excitement was immediately curbed. “That's the disappointing part. You have to take a license exam to even drive one, and to take it, you need to be recommended to the higher ups.”  
  
“That is disappointing. Well, I'd ask you more, but it looks like you have your hands full. Is everyone else in the city?”  
  
“Um, let's see. Silica is probably out exploring, Asuna might be looking for jobs with Sinon, Agil might be out prospecting, Leafa is likely out planting data probes, and Yui is with Silica.”  
  
“Wait, Yui is here too?”  
  
“Yeah, she got her own body and everything. Asuna gave her the heads up to travel with Silica, as long as they tried to avoid danger.”  
  
Kirito began looking more perturbed. “She what!?”  
  
“Don't worry. Your daughter's safe. If nothing else, she chose a shield and gatling gun as her weapons. Heck, she might be with Asuna and Sinon right now. Our divisions are actually pretty loose about what we do.”  
  
“Okay, mind pointing me their way?”  
  
Lis pointed to a transport ship nearby. “Take the transport to the Administrative District, and go behind the huge tower. You'll find the BLADE Barracks, and the BLADE Terminals. Talk to her, and she'll probably help you formally join us.”  
  
“Alright, thanks.” He turned away and ran to the transport ship.


	3. Soldier of the Harriers

Kirito left the presence of Lis and Klein, after telling them to meet him at the barracks, heading to the nearby transport shuttle. The ship, looking like an orange box, hovered down to a small crowd of players, who were conversing freely. When the shuttle touched down, and the door opened, an NPC led players in an orderly fashion inside. There were rows of benches lining the interior, which were quickly filled up by people of all different skill levels. Kirito sat next to the wall, and leaned against it to take a short respite from the day's events. After the maximum capacity was reached, the door shut, and the walls lit up to display the city outside. Kirito jumped back in surprise, accidentally pushing the player next to him.  
  
Everyone could feel the ship quickly take off, as they got an astonishing view of each district from above. Kirito focused on only one point, and that was the large countdown on the tower.  
  
He thought only to himself. “It's a percentage, so what could that mean?”  
  
Not long after, the tower loomed above them, as the shuttle landed on a platform in front of it. All of the passengers unloaded from the ship, as others took off and landed in the same area. Kirito looked around for more of his friends, after breaking away from the main crowd. He saw Asuna, Sinon, and Yui waving at him from the entrance to the tower. They all seemed very excited to see him again, so he wasted no time reaching the three of them. Yui sprinted to give Kirito his second bear hug of the day, while Sinon and Asuna stopped short of them.  
  
“Daddy! I missed you so much!”  
  
Kirito quietly laughed, not taking notice of her new body. “It feels like it's been forever! Where have you all been?”  
  
Asuna took Yui's shoulder with one hand, and Kirito's arm with her other. “We crashed somewhere in the region, so we had to fight our way to the city. After we did that, we got inducted into BLADE. I'm sure you've heard a lot about it by this point.”  
  
“No kidding.” He looked at Yui. “Whoa, when did you get an upgrade?”  
  
She looked slightly older, around the age of 13, but still retained her young demeanor. She wore a white sleeveless shirt, with a black neck. On her arms were long black and blue gloves, matching her ankle high socks. She wore purple boots, and brown shorts held by a purple belt.  
  
“Can you believe this? I got a new body here! I can help protect you and Mommy now!”  
  
“I'm not so sure about that...”  
  
Asuna only smiled. “Don't worry about it, Kirito. I made sure she was capable before I let her go with Silica.”  
  
“Yeah!” Yui removed something resembling a metal camping backpack, and unfolded it into a shield, larger than her body. “Nothing will get past me.”  
  
Kirito emitted a nervous laugh. “Is that all you've got, though?”  
  
“If I need to hit hard-” She made the shield disappear, and in its place was a huge capsule. “I have this!” Yui unfolded the capsule into a gatling gun.  
  
“Okay, okay. I guess I can't doubt something like that.”  
  
Sinon stood back, holding an assault rifle in her hands. “Obviously the developers weren't going for the realistic approach.”  
  
Kirito turned to her. “Definitely. Did you finally get rid of the sniper rifle?”  
  
“No. The class system is what's holding me back from that. Yui explained to me that her weapons were based off of her class, and that I can change it when it reaches rank 10.”  
  
“Sounds like a grind.”  
  
Asuna chimed in. “Well, if Yui joined today, like the rest of us, it can't take too long, right? I'm already rank 8, and Sinon is 9.”  
  
“Alright, where can I find some quests?”  
  
“First, we need to register you with BLADE. We're in front of the tower for a reason.”  
  
Two familiar voices spoke behind Kirito. “You guys sharpening this blade, or what?”  
  
“We're getting to that, Klein. Mind waiting for Leafa and Silica, first? We all want to see what he thinks of a few things.”  
  
Kirito began looking annoyed. “Jeez, it's like you've all been here for hours already.”  
  
Sinon held a smirk. “See what happens when you spend hours creating an avatar?”  
  
Kirito only sighed. “Where are the other two, anyway?”  
  
Silica called from around the tower. “We're here! Are we late?”  
  
Asuna let go of Yui, and took Kirito's hand. “Just in time, actually. Since everyone is here, why don't we go in now?”  
  
The eight of them walked into the tower, named BLADE Tower, where computer screens lined the walls, and two men, one muscular, one well-dressed. They stood aloof, watching lines of code shoot upward on each screen. Upon hearing the footsteps of Kirito's party, all three turned around to face them. The muscular one, wearing a green tank top, a flaming heart tattoo, balding blonde hair, with a matching mustache, spoke in a gruff voice.  
  
“It's you again. What did you want now?”  
  
Asuna stepped forward. “The eighth member. He's here.”  
  
“Can't complain about an extra pair of hands, I guess. Alright, rookie. Your friends here have spent a lot of my time recommending you for BLADE duty. So I'll give you the option, after my assistant Nagi explains whatever you don't know.”  
  
The Asian-looking man, wearing a black suit, began to speak. “Your assistant? Never mind. I'm sure you must have many questions about our organization, so I'll be glad to help you get your thoughts straight.”  
  
Kirito started his interrogation. “Okay, first of all, what is BLADE? What does it mean?”  
  
“BLADE stands for Builders of a Legacy After the Destruction of Earth.”  
  
“Wait, Destruction of Earth?”  
  
Nagi looked surprised. “You don't remember? Hmm... strange. Possibly amnesia, due to pod stasis.”  
  
“Slow down, what are you talking about?”  
  
“I'll try to make this as brief as possible. Many years ago, two alien races waged war over Earth. We were the collateral damage of that war, so to save ourselves, humanity escaped into the stars to find a new habitable planet. While we were traveling, one of the same races hunted us down, and tried to eradicate us completely. They downed our ship, the White Whale, and forced us to land on this planet, Mira. Some of us escaped in pods, crashing across Mira. The ones that survived in this habitat unit created this organization to act as our military..”  
  
Asuna stood by Kirito's side. “Quite the lore, huh?”  
  
“Yeah, no kidding.” He turned back to Nagi. “What about these divisions I keep hearing about?”  
  
The muscular man answered to this. “I'll be the one to explain that. You can call me Commander Vandham. Now tell me this before I use my breath. Do you want the short explanation, like your friends, or shall I give you the whole story?”  
  
“You might as well give it to me in full.”  
  
“Alright.” Vandham activated a screen behind him, showing a green triangle symbol. “First off, we have the Pathfinders. You've seen your map, right?”  
  
“No... but I can check right now.”  
  
“Don't bother. We divide it into hexagonal segments, most of which are darkened at the moment. We light up those segments by planting data probes in certain locations, which expands our visual range on FrontierNav. With it, we can detect the general vicinity of living organisms in the area. Citizens, BLADE members, indigens, you name it. It's not exactly the sexiest job, but you better bet your ass that its important.”  
  
Leafa walked up to Kirito. “Data probes give us a regular income, us being Pathfinders. Of course I'm telling you this, because I am one.”  
  
Vandham tapped the screen behind him, changing the symbol to two red boomerangs. “Next are the Interceptors. You've already had some experience in battle, so you know the gist of their job. They're the ones defending the front lines, escorting VIPs, anything like that. You need a job done outside the walls? Call the Interceptors.”  
  
Asuna and Sinon appeared beside Kirito. “That's us in a nutshell.”  
  
The symbol changed to a blue chess knight. “After that, are the Harriers. Where the Interceptors are NLA's defense, the Harriers are BLADE's offense. If we spot an obvious threat anywhere on Mira, we send them. Something you might be interested in is that the Harriers are usually top on our Give these People Skells list.”  
  
Klein slapped Kirito's back. “And that's why you saw me fly that Skell earlier today. Well... kind of.”  
  
Next, a symbol of an upside down yellow Y. “The fourth division is the Reclaimers. Since we only had so many provisions on the White Whale, we need to treat everything we brought from Earth as irreplaceable. The Reclaimers' job is to go out and salvage any gear, weapons, or personal effects they can from battle wreckage, White Whale pieces, and so on. It's a very morbid job, but someone's gotta do it. One of their biggest goals, however, is to find the Lifehold Core.”  
  
Nagi piped up. “Allow me to explain. Anyone who was not part of the maintenance crew or military on the White Whale was kept in stasis, on a structure called the Lifehold. It also contains records of the books written by humanity, and records of the passengers' DNA samples. It is imperative that we find at least the Core as quickly as possible.”  
  
“If being the savior of humanity isn't enticing enough, then you can keep whatever money and gear you find in the wreckage.”  
  
Kirito was lost in thoughts. “This is a lot to take in.”  
  
“Well, you better make room, because we're only halfway through.” The screen changed to a green hexagon with a purple pill in the center. “The fifth division is the Curators. These guys are out in the field, getting their hands dirty by studying new regions, and observing new specimens. It's not all picking berries, though, since they're the ones exploring new lands, they're the ones meeting new indigens face to face. We want to know as much about this planet as we can, so we developed a database called the Collectopedia. Curators get a special bonus for filling in categories there.”  
  
Silica and Yui bounced forward. “It's pretty scary in the wild, but it's also really fun!”  
  
The next symbol could only be described as a diagonal, purple, U9. “The sixth division is the Prospectors. Like I said earlier, we need to find new ways to gather materials on this hunk of rock, so that's the prospectors job. They find anything we'll need to survive, like food, water, raw materials, anything to develop new gear. The Prospectors are paid very well, so it wouldn't hurt to consider them.”  
  
Kirito looked at the screen, monitoring the crystals being shown. “Good pay, huh?”  
  
Afterward was a brown octagon, with the right side broken into triangles. “Seventh, is the Outfitters. We get most of our gear from private Arms Manufacturers. Our deal is that we give them materials, and they give us some sweet goods, so when you're looking at that shiny new sniper rifle? Thank the Outfitters. Since they're the ones supplying these AMs, they're the ones who get to test out the latest tech, including Skells. When they aren't making it themselves, of course.”  
  
Lisbeth bent in front of Kirito and smiled. “Bet you can't guess which one of us is a part of that!”  
  
The eight symbol was a purple C, enclosing a reversed, smaller C. “Finally, we have the Mediators. They're the ones keeping everything tidy with John and Joan Q. Public. You got in an argument with your neighbor? Mediators. Cat in a tree? Mediators. Their benefits mainly come from the citizens of NLA, and not us, so your mileage may vary. That's assuming you've got what it takes, since if you want to be a Mediator, you need to be a jack of all trades, and a people person. If you would bet a charming man like me would make a good Mediator, don't try gambling, kid.”  
  
Kirito looked overwhelmed by the amount of information he needed to process. “Wow... this is really a lot to take in. I'm not sure what to choose.”  
  
“Well, make it quick. I'm sick of hearing myself talk.”  
  
A menu appeared in front of Kirito, showing BLADE's symbol, and beneath it, the symbols of the eight divisions.  
  
“Um... I guess... this one.”  
  
Kirito tapped the symbol belonging to the Harriers, after which a small device, similar to what he had seen others wield, materialized in his hand. He looked down at it, where the words “BLADE Registration Complete” showed up. Another window showed up, informing him that he had completed the beginner's quest. He leveled himself up to level 5, and his class to level 4. Kirito learned a new art, but he didn't have time to check its stats.  
  
Nagi looked directly at Kirito. “So you've decided to join the Harriers? Good timing. We have the perfect training mission for you. There have been reports of a large monster lurking around the outskirts of NLA. Something about it is troubling, though. We need you to make sure it doesn't come any closer, so you and a party of three others should go and defeat it.”  
  
One last window popped up in front of Kirito, describing the new quest he had been given. Yui, Asuna, and Klein stood by Kirito, as he eyed the details.  
  
“Looks like you guys have already decided my party for me. Well, shall we go?”  
  
Asuna nodded. “We've got a lot more to show you around here, but I think we should take a break from the formalities. Let's kick some monster butt!”


	4. Fatal Exception

Leafa was looking at her comm device, sending the coordinates of Kirito's training mission to him. The area was near a data probe site, creating an easy marker to travel to.  
  
“Alright, so the area is just out of the West Gate. I recommend you take one of the buggies over there.” She pointed toward a group of armored jeeps.  
  
“Okay, thanks.” Kirito turned to his party, of Klein, Yui, and Asuna. “Which one of us is driving?”  
  
Klein was quick to claim the spot. After that, they ran to one of the jeeps, Yui and Asuna staying in the back, while Kirito and Klein took the front. They hopped into the seats, acting confused at first.  
  
“Hey, Kirito, why is the wheel on your side?”  
  
“Hm? Oh! It must be an American model. Come on, let's switch.”  
  
Kirito jumped out of the left side, and quickly jogged to the other side, while Asuna and Yui giggled in the back seat. After aligning themselves properly, Klein jammed the accelerator. The jeep shot forward through the gate. The dark tunnel ahead was only allowed a small glance, as Kirito's party entered the bright light on the other side. The immediate landscape was quite different than Kirito’s previous experience, or what he could make out of it at such a high speed.  
  
A strong breeze blew past the passengers, Klein still pushing hard on the accelerator with a wide grin on his face, Asuna and Yui raising one arm into the air as their hair blew behind them, and Kirito looking slightly worried while holding onto the side of the jeep. Klein slowed down the vehicle, as they spotted a tall beam of light in the distance.  
  
“Alright Kirito, if you wanna take a look around, it’d be best to do it now. Can’t tell what’s going to be at the probe site.”  
  
Kirito followed Klein’s advice, and viewed his surroundings. Instead of large lakes and towering mountains, the area ahead of the West Gate was filled with spacious plains, rolling hills, and dome-like rock formations. He focused his attention to underneath one of the domes, catching a glance of an electrical spark, before hearing the sounds of a charging herd. To Klein’s side, there was a group of rooster-ostrich hybrid creatures chasing each other across the plains. Perched on top a rock spire beside them was a massive purple ape, scanning the area.  
  
“Done sightseeing? We’re he-“  
  
There was the sound of a laser beam firing from the probe site. Klein hit the brakes, quickly halting the armored jeep. Everyone jumped out, and hid behind a group of trees. In the distance, near the beacon of light, there was one of the ape creatures fighting a giant green beetle.  
  
Asuna whispered into Kirito’s ear. “The world’s pretty lively, huh? We get to see these creatures fight pretty often. The beetle is called a Cinicula, and the ape is called a Simius.”  
  
They watched as the Simius wound up its fist, aiming to punch the Cinicula’s beak. It ran toward the bug, and thrust its clenched fist straight at the Cinicula’s face, but was stopped by one of the insect’s plated legs. The Cinicula opened its beak, and a purple laser shot out, directly striking the Simius’ chest. It staggered back, allowing the Cinicula to tackle it to the ground. The Simius attempted to flee, but the Cinicula bit onto its tail, causing it to writhe in pain.  
  
Knowing this could be its final moments, the Simius wound up its arm once again, as it was dragged to the Cinicula’s feet. The bug lifted the monkey into the air, interrupting its charge, and slammed it into the ground. Still biting on the Simius’ tail, the Cinicula raised one foot into the air, then crushed the monkey’s head with it, killing it. While Kirito looked amazed by the battle, Yui looked worried about the results.  
  
“That wasn’t supposed to happen.”  
  
“Yui, what do you mean?”  
  
“The relative strength of those two creatures, it wasn’t shown here! In any other scenario, the Simius would have won that fight.”  
  
Asuna looked over at Yui, with a theory. “Hey, you don’t think this is the threat that Nagi meant, right?”  
  
“It must be. Only a tyrant could pull off that feat.”  
  
Kirito was again, questioning the mechanics. “A tyrant?”  
  
“A tyrant is a creature possessing traits not native to its species. It could include supreme strength, some sort of natural resistance, either way, it usually goes against the normal level system.”  
  
“How would we know if it was a tyrant beforehand, though?”  
  
“Look at its level. And its name.”  
  
Kirito used the comm device he had been given at BLADE Tower to scan the enemy. “Alecto, the Beacon? It’s only level 6.”  
  
“The Simius that was just killed was somewhere between 11 and 20.”  
  
“Whoa, I guess you’re right.”  
  
Klein joined the conversation. “Okay, so what’s the plan?”  
  
Kirito thought for a few moments. “Let me think… That Simius was aiming for the Cinicula’s beak. There must be a reason for that. If we aim for the beak, we might be able to reveal a weak point, if it isn’t already one.”  
  
Asuna nodded. “Sounds like a good idea. Yui? What do you think?”  
  
She nodded. “If it helps, I can topple it with my shield.”  
  
“Definitely. So, shall we?”  
  
The four of them exited their hiding place, and began sneaking toward the Cinicula. Asuna was slightly shaking as the party crawled closer. It had not taken notice of their presence. Yui drew her shield, and the others drew their assault rifles. As they approached, the familiar elements appeared on Kirito's display, along with his friends' health bars. Beside them were varying levels of TP, with Yui's over 1,000. Something new, however, was a circular health bar over the Cinicula's leg. Kirito halted, signaling all the others to do the same.  
  
“Hey, what's this circle?”  
  
Klein whispered to him. “That thing? That's an appendage health bar. You can break them if you can hit them hard enough.”  
  
“Sounds useful.”  
  
Yui sped up slightly, surpassing everyone else. “Okay! Ready!”  
  
Everyone stood up, as Yui charged at the Cinicula's legs. It turned just it time to get smacked in the face by Yui's shield, staggering it, but not toppling. Her TP bar dropped by 1,000 points.  
  
Asuna looked surprised. “Resistant to topple? Forget it. Yui! Stay by us!”  
  
Yui called back. “Got it!” She ran back toward Kirito and Asuna.  
  
Kirito and Klein fired at the Cinicula's beak while it was recovering. Both its health, and appendage health drained, but not by much. After it regained its footing, the Cinicula charged at Kirito, planning to chomp on him. Kirito ran to the side, and dove out of the way to avoid the creature's attack. It quickly turned around, and began charging a laser beam from its mouth. Yui ran toward Kirito, at high speed to protect him. As the Cinicula fired its beam attack at Kirito, who was still getting up, Yui planted her shield on the ground, struggling to resist the laser. Kirito noticed her strain, and place his hands on her shoulders to provide support.  
  
She emitted a small laugh. “Thanks, daddy.”  
  
Asuna and Klein ran to their side, and shot at the Cinicula's beak. After they both emptied their clips, the tyrant stopped attacking, snarled, and curled up, covering its face. Yui swapped her shield for her gatling gun, and began firing at the Cinicula. Everyone else followed along after reloading their weapons, but even with all four of them attacking at once, the Cinicula took very little damage.  
  
Kirito stopped shooting. “It's guarding! We need to break it out somehow!”  
  
Klein pointed his rifle into the air. “I've got just the thing.” He turned toward the tyrant, and fired three shots into the air. “HEY! GET YOUR ASS OUT OF THERE!”  
  
The Cinicula uncovered itself, focusing its attention on Klein. “Now's your chance. Get the bugger before he gets me!”  
  
Kirito and Asuna charged at the Cinicula, heading toward its legs. Kirito used Assault Hammer, causing the tyrant to lean to the side. Asuna followed up with the same Art, this time toppling the monster. Yui opened a hatch on her gun, releasing six missiles at the Cinicula's beak. All six struck and exploded, breaking the beak in a splash of purple blood. Behind it, was a glowing orange mass, with a moving flap. The Cinicula waved its legs around as it was attacked, roaring loudly. Asuna drew her knife, running straight to the revealed appendage, while Kirito bolted his rifle and kneeled down. Before Asuna reached the monster's face, he launched a Flame Grenade at the same area, just barely missing the weak point, due to the tyrant recovering from the topple. Asuna stopped advancing upon seeing her opportunity close, and retreated back to Kirito's side. Yui nudged her, advising a potential plan.  
  
“Mommy, what if I boosted you up with my shield?”  
  
“That... might work. We just need to set it up.”  
  
She drew her rifle, repeating Klein's earlier maneuver, forcing the Cinicula to focus its attention on her. Yui ran in front of her, and turned around to set up her shield as a ramp. After switching to her knife, she waited for the Cinicula to begin sprinting toward her, then leaped off of Yui's shield. As the Cinicula roared with its mouth flaps, Asuna closed her eyes, and jammed her knife straight into them, latching herself onto the monster as well. The Cinicula reared itself, trying to throw Asuna off, as the others fired bullets around her. Soon, the combination of damage drained the last of the tyrant's health, and it let out one last scream before falling onto its side, going limp.  
  
Kirito put his rifle away, as Klein pumped his fists into the air. “Hell yeah! Now that was a fight!”  
  
Yui was equally excited. “We did it!”  
  
Kirito laughed, before checking what the enemy had dropped. It was a set of leg armor, highlighted in green text. “I'll have to check that out later.”  
  
Asuna put her hand on Kirito's shoulder. “So? What do you think of this place now?”  
  
Kirito took a moment to think, while smiling. “Yeah, I could get used to it.”  
  
“Good. Since I wanna come back here tomorrow, except I'm not doing it without you.”  
  
“Heh. I can't refuse that offer. Let's go turn in that quest.”  
  
“We don't need to. Quests automatically turn themselves in once they're completed. Look, you've already got the rewards.”  
  
Kirito looked at his status, seeing that he had leveled up to Level 6, and Rank 5. He had also obtained a large sum of credits. “Oh, well that's that, I guess. You wanna do anything before we get off?”  
  
“Yeah, I do. Looks like both Klein's and my class have reached Rank 10, so I think it's time for a change in scenery.”  
  
“Well, let's see what they have.”  
  
Klein and Asuna both opened the class menu, and looked at the six available options. Klein was quick to choose his class, after seeing the weapon choices... then the name. “Samurai Gunner? Sounds like me. Let's go for it!”  
  
He selected it, and watched as certain stats, in this case being HP and Melee Attack, increased. The knife on his hip disappeared, and was replaced by a large sword on his back. “Now this is a sword. I wonder if they've got katanas, though.”  
  
Asuna took a little longer to make her choice. “No rapiers? Well, what did I expect? Hmm... hey, this one looks interesting.” She selected the class of “Blast Fencer.” Asuna went through a similar process, seeing her HP, Melee Attack, and Ranged Attack given moderate boosts. Her knife and assault rifle were replaced with an empty curved hilt at her side, and two disks on her back.  
  
“What the? What are these?” She unsheathed the hilt, then saw a button in the middle. After pressing it, a blade of light appeared in front of her.  
  
Kirito was quick to recognize the model. “Hey, that's a Photon Sword!”  
  
“Like the one you used in GGO? Wow.” She swung it around a few times before dispersing the blade. After that, she pulled out the two disks from her back. They exited her hands, and floated by her shoulders.  
  
“Drones?” She pointed at the ground, ordering them to fire at that location.  
  
“Well, this is certainly an interesting build, but testing it will have to wait. I'm ready to log off.”  
  
“Alright, I'll see you on the other side, then.”  
  
Kirito, Asuna, and Klein opened their menus, and pressed the Log Out button. The menu disappeared, followed by a spinning disk. After around 10 seconds, Klein began getting antsy.  
  
“Is it just me, or is this taking longer than usual?”  
  
Kirito placed his fingers on his chin. “Come to think of it, yeah, it is.”  
  
An error message presented itself shortly after. “ERROR: Server Error. Please try again later.”  
  
Asuna showed a fearful expression, as Yui looked at the display out of curiosity. “S-server error? We can't log out?”  
  
Kirito studied the message, as Klein fruitlessly tried again and again. “I guess the servers must be overloaded. It is the first day of release. But not being able to log out, calling that a minor issue would be an understatement.  
  
Klein looked extremely worried. “I can't be stuck here, I've got stuff to do tonight!”  
  
Kirito tried to calm him down. “Hold on, it's just a server issue. I'm sure they're working as hard as they can to fix it. I'm sure this won't end up like SAO, not again. Let's just go back to the barracks. Maybe we're the only ones with issues.”  
  
Asuna was slightly comforted by these words. “Alright, if you say so. I guess I have a little more time to kill.”


	5. Data Cleansing

The party were slowly driving back to the West Gate, taking small comfort in Kirito’s earlier words. The sky was beginning to darken, meaning nightfall was imminent. Asuna produced her comm device, trying to reach their other friends.  
  
“You think they know about this?”  
  
Without turning his head, Klein spoke back. “I don’t know. Didn’t one of you tell them we were logging out?”  
  
“No, I never did. Who said they would have followed us anyway?”  
  
“I guess you’re right.”  
  
Yui was resting on Asuna’s arm. “Even if we’ll be here for a little longer, we can make the most of it, right?”  
  
Kirito turned to the back seat. “Yeah, I guess so. You all still have a few more things to show me.”  
  
Klein slapped his forehead. “Oh, right! We never even got you to join our squad!”  
  
Asuna remembered something else. “And we haven’t even showed you the barracks, yet.”  
  
They all turned to the front of the vehicle, seeing the wide gate in front of them. Klein sped up the jeep through the dark tunnel, soon arriving at the bustling Administrative District. He parked the car near some tents and tables, where a few players in heavy white armor were panicking.  
  
“Oh man, oh man! Why can’t I leave?”  
  
One player next to him pounded his fist on a table. “I’d have half a mind to sue them for this!”  
  
Kirito was listening to their cries. “It looks like we’re not the only ones.”  
  
They heard Silica’s voice in the distance, calling Kirito’s name. He turned to see Sinon, Silica, Lis, and Leafa running toward them.  
  
Leafa stood in front of Kirito, bent over, and her hands on her knees to rest. “We got your message. So you know about it too?”  
  
Asuna strolled over to them. “No one can get out, then?”  
  
“No one. The whole city’s been blowing up over it!”  
  
Sinon pulled out her comm device from her pocket. “I hear the GMs are going to make an announcement about it soon.”  
  
Everyone else found their own small pads, and as if a signal, Nagi’s face appeared on a floating display. The computers behind him were shooting out code at an incredible rate.  
  
“All players. This is an announcement from the GMs. We are aware of the major server crash, and we are working as fast as possible to fix-!“ A siren cut Nagi off, and he quickly turned around.  
  
All of the computer screens went red, and the code disappeared. Kirito’s squad could hear the frantic cries of the workers, along with the confusion of multiple players around him. The camera zoomed in on one of the screens, where large text started appearing.  
  
“WE ARE IN CONTROL NOW. THIS GAME IS LOCKED FROM THE OUTSIDE. ESCAPE IS IMPOSSIBLE. WE WILL HAVE OUR REVENGE.”  
  
Then the lights went out, and panicked screams were the only indication that the broadcast was still running. Then, silence. The entire city stopped moving, in shock of what had happened. Night lights flared up across the city, showing the evident fear on everyone’s faces, especially the SAO survivors.  
  
Asuna was first to speak. “No… This can’t be happening… Not again!”  
  
Then Silica spoke. “I… I can’t be stuck in VR a second time!  
  
Leafa was in strong disbelief. “W-what? We’re stuck here? We can’t be stuck here! We’re not! Only the NerveGear could do that!”  
  
There was a chime from everyone’s comm devices, signaling a small, blinking light. A message had arrived from an unknown sender.  
  
“You are now our prisoner. You can’t log out now. The only way to escape is to play our game. And to win… you must do three things. Complete the story. That is the first. And if you believe a forced disconnect will save you, we should tell you about this game. It isn’t made with the Seed. It is made with an engine based off of it. And we have found its weaknesses. We can change any variable, at any time. But that wouldn’t be any fun, would it? As for the AmuSphere, while it won’t kill you, it can be set to completely block all brain signals, placing you in a coma. If the device detects a forced disconnect, it will activate this state, leaving you helpless. The government knows this, and will make ample provisions. If you die in the game, you will also be placed in this state until you are revived. Only the GMs know how to revive players. It is up to them to share the secret. Good luck, our little pawns.”  
  
Kirito remained silent. Yui clutched her mother’s hand. Sinon began losing her cool. “What? No…”  
  
Kirito walked to Asuna, and grabbed her other hand. He turned to the uneasy group, and began speaking. “Everyone.” His voice was slightly shaky. “We can get through this. We’ve done it once before, and we’ll do it again.”  
  
The party looked over to him, some showing small smiles, others remaining stoic. Kirito continued talking. “The message said the GMs know a secret to revival. We need to go find them immediately.”  
  
From the front of the West Gate, Kirito’s squad traveled through an intersection between Division Drive, containing hangars for all eight divisions’ supplies and Skells, and Armory Alley, the location for purchasing gear and other items. They showed up at the landing pad in front of BLADE Tower, where the party first reunited, and were hounded by a huge crowd of players attempting to enter the tower.  
  
“Let us in!”  
  
“You know something we don’t! Stop hiding it from us!”  
  
“Open this door before I bust it down!”  
  
The squad waded through the hordes until they reached the entrance, which was when another broadcast was displayed on their comm devices. Both Nagi and Vandham were visible this time.  
  
Nagi sighed before delivering his speech. “So. This is what the game has come to. BLADE members, if you can hear me, your new task is to finish this game. This hacking group has wrenched full control of story events, so we must play by their rules. We will do our best to prevent any unnecessary deaths, and we promise to bring back those who do meet an end. I should take the time to explain. The old death mechanic was that a total party wipe would return the group to the last visited landmark. Members who fell during battle could be revived at a cost of 3,000 TP, and would immediately revive at no cost after the battle has ended. But now, those who fall...” He paused. “Those who fall, will have their bodies transported away from the battle, and placed into stasis in New L.A., where the GMs will revive them. As for combat, since we are all a part of this, expect to see the both of us on the battlefield. We aren’t just two empty suits. As for who is alive, and who is dead, we have monitors alongside FrontierNav to scan the player base. At the moment, there are 50,000 players trapped in the game, and that number will not rise. To all BLADE members, let’s make sure we all leave this alive. Thank you for your time.”  
  
After Nagi ended his speech, there were a few members of the audience who applauded him. More followed, along with loud cheering. Kirito’s party joined them, and soon scattered away toward the barracks. The formerly gloomy group looked more motivated after hearing the speech. Lisbeth was especially pumped.  
  
“Okay, even if we are trapped, at least the stakes aren’t as high as they were before, right?”  
  
Sinon was thinking back to one particular moment. “Didn’t you notice something off about his speech, though?”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“Before he began talking about the death mechanics, he paused. Anyone with a good knowledge of the game shouldn’t need to do that.”  
  
“Well, the guy was under a lot of pressure, so don’t sweat the small stuff.”  
  
“If you say so.”  
  
When they arrived at the barracks, they heard the mechanical sounds of a Skell strutting down Division Drive. Lis shut her eyes and enjoyed the moment, possibly more than she should have. Klein snapped her out of it.  
  
“Lis? We kinda need you here.”  
  
“Oh! Right. Sorry about that. Here, Kirito. Before we enter our barracks, I need to invite you to this squad of ours.”  
  
Kirito promptly received an invitation on his comm device, asking to join their squad, named… Eternal Rose.  
  
Asuna timidly laughed. “I… made the name. You know Yuuki will always live on in my heart, and I wanted to reflect that here.”  
  
“I don’t blame you. Imagine if she was here, seeing all of this.” He accepted the invitation.  
  
Asuna walked up to the yellow sliding door, where a display appeared in front of her. After selecting a few options that Kirito couldn’t make out, and a small waiting period, the door opened to a long hallway. The walls surrounding everyone were a deep blue, like an ocean, and the metal flooring was beige colored. Shrubs were growing out of planters on a nearby archway, and a path branched off to a living area and kitchen. There were three couches, surrounding a low table in the center. Beside them was a counter, sectioning off a kitchen area, stocked with utensils, ingredients, and drinks. To the right of it was a ramp, leading to a display area, and the bedrooms. Across from that was a terminal, next to a hallway leading to a circular bay. On the other side of the barracks was a downward ramp leading to a hangar, with eight slots, presumably for Skells. The various robotic arms and locks shined in the strong lighting. Kirito spent many moments looking around the entire building.  
  
“This is a pretty nice place. But doesn’t it get cramped with other players?”  
  
Lis looked over her shoulder at him. “There are no other players who come here. This barracks is specifically for our squad. When we joined the game, we got our own personal barracks that we could invite other players into. Asuna created this squad for us, so we never use them, and instead, we come to Asuna’s, who was designated as the squad’s barracks. Hence the interior design.”  
  
Asuna winked at the two. “Reminds you of a beach, doesn’t it?”  
  
“I guess you could say that.”  
  
“Anyway, if we’re going to be here for a while, then I should probably start cooking something for us. Kirito, are you ever going to equip that leg armor from the Cinicula battle?”  
  
“I almost forgot about that.” Kirito opened his menu, and equipped the new pair of pants. His legs turned into a wireframe, as the new model was loaded in. When it returned to a discernible shape, he was wearing bulky white armor, not unlike the players at the West Gate. It severely mismatched his lightly armored shirt, with short sleeves.  
  
“What the? I look ridiculous!”  
  
Everyone started laughing, as Kirito immediately unequipped the armor.  
  
“Aw, man. That thing actually had some decent stats. HP and Melee Attack Up?”  
  
Leafa resisted her laughter enough to inform Kirito of another feature. “You don’t need to show the rest of the world what you’re wearing!”  
  
“Hm? What do you mean?”  
  
“There's an option in the equipment menu for fashion gear. That's what most of us are wearing. Except Klein.”  
  
“Alright. I'm going to fix that mistake, then.”  
  
Kirito re-equipped the heavy leg armor, then placed his original pants in his fashion slots. His legs swapped back and forth between the clunky armor, and the light, black pants. His white and orange torso, lightly armored, remained unchanged.  
  
Silica was just leaving her giggling fit. “So, what are we going to do now?”  
  
“Right now? I think we should all rest. They said all story events are under the hacker's control, so we can't do much else.”  
  
“Agreed.”

* * *

  
**In the real world**

* * *

  
A mature, feminine voice spoke, situated in a dark room. “So, where do we stand as of now?”  
  
Next to her was a suited male, whose face was covered by the darkness. “The players are trapped inside, and our scare tactics have proven successful.”  
  
“How long until we can truly control the game?”  
  
“The bug will be finished in approximately 9 hours.”  
  
“Excellent. Keep the servers busy until then. We'll show the world our true strength. And we will have our revenge, Kirito.” The woman cackled softly.


	6. Hostile Connection

A new morning was upon the planet Mira, bringing with it the revelation that yesterday’s events were not a dream. Players took a different approach to taking jobs, choosing ones that were much less risky than before, leaving many high level jobs untouched. Kirito’s party exited the barracks, after the morning rush was over, and began walking toward the BLADE Terminal to find a quest for themselves. In his peripheral vision, Kirito saw the two soldiers who had rescued him, when he first arrived in the game. Walking by them was Vandham, and all three were headed toward the barracks. Kirito ran toward them, while everyone else stayed behind, confused.  
  
“Hey! You!”  
  
The honey blonde male turned toward Kirito. “Huh? Who are you?”  
  
“I'm that guy you saved yesterday. I never got to thank you for it.”  
  
The female noticed the male's absence, and turned back to him. “Gwin? What are you doing?”  
  
“Apparently we helped this guy out yesterday. He wanted to thank us.”  
  
“Hang on, were you that guy being harassed by those Grexes?”  
  
Kirito nodded. “Yeah, I am.” He bent over, facing the ground. “I wanted to thank you for saving me.”  
  
The female turned away. “Don't mention it. I'm sorta busy right now, so if you could let us go, that would be nice.”  
  
Kirito's party ran to his side, while Kirito interrogated the other players. “Busy? What for?”  
  
“Important mission. Sorry, but I think it would be best to not get involved.”  
  
Gwin looked at Kirito's team. “A lot of the players around here probably couldn't handle it.”  
  
“You sure? If there's a tough job, we could definitely handle it.”  
  
The woman sighed. “I doubt we're getting through to them. Commander? What do you have to say?”  
  
Vandham was observing the two groups' conversation. “Me? As much as I don't want to take unnecessary risks, I've seen some damn magnificent plays with reckless caution. Remember Cross's training mission?”  
  
Gwin closed his eyes, trying to remember what he had not seen. “I think Elma told me about that. Didn't they take out an entire pack of Forfex on their own?”  
  
“That's right. This group took on a Cinicula tyrant on their own. Besides, with you two as backup, what can go wrong?”  
  
“A Cinicula tyrant? Well, I can't argue with that. I guess we should at least fill them in on the situation.”  
  
The female looked down at the ground. “Fine. The hacking group that attacked us yesterday has begun the first phase of the story. From here on out, let's just continue as if they weren't there. To the far west of NLA, there have been reports of alien creatures setting up camp. They seem to be much smarter than the indigenous life, so we believe we should negotiate our terms with them.”  
  
Asuna looked confused. “And you say this is dangerous?”  
  
“If negotiations go south, don't complain when you have more bullet holes than brain cells.”  
  
The two women growled at each other.  
  
Kirito stood in between them. “Easy, now.” He turned to Gwin. “Is she usually like this?”  
  
Gwin ran to the woman's side. “No, only around people she doesn't know. Since you probably won't get her name, it's Irina.”  
  
“Okay, thanks.”  
  
Silica stepped forward, and tried to soothe both parties. “Hey, it might make you feel better if you know our experience with VRMMOs.”  
  
“You have experience with this?”  
  
“We... played a lot of Alfheim Online in the past.”  
  
“Alfheim? That means you know the Seed well enough.” Irina sighed again. “We were going to bring Cross and Lao, but I guess we could bring two of you. And maybe a second party. But neither I nor Gwin are going to carry you, got it?”  
  
“Okay.” Silica turned to her friends. “Then let's go!”  
  
Vandham crossed his arms and smiled. “Well, looks like the ten of you can govern yourselves. Be careful. We’ve had a few signatures on FrontierNav go silent in that area. Do us all a favor and don’t get your asses handed to you.”  
  
Gwin nodded. “Sounds good. We can make a plan on the way.”  
  
Kirito's party of eight, joined by Irina and Gwin, gathered into two armored jeeps. Kirito, Yui, Asuna, and Leafa gathered in one car, Klein, Lis, Sinon, and Silica in another, then finally Irina and Gwin. Asuna hopped into the driver's seat, careful not to repeat Klein's mistake, while the Kirigaya siblings sat in the back seats. Kirito's comm device started to ring in his pocket, so he retrieved it to check its status. Gwin was setting up a call for the entire group, to begin discussing strategy.  
  
“Looks like you got the call.”  
  
Sinon appeared on another line. “I'm here. Let's go.”  
  
“Okay. The base appeared around FN Site 119. Where was that Cinicula tyrant?”  
  
Kirito opened his map in another window. “It was at FN Site 117.”  
  
“Good. We'll be going back there, plus a little detour.”  
  
“Got it.” He leaned over the seat, and Asuna's shoulder. “You know how to drive this thing?”  
  
“I, um... yeah! Of course!”  
  
“Maybe I should drive?”  
  
“Don't worry about it! I can learn! Better to do it now, right? When it can't kill me? Sort of?”  
  
“Alright, just take it easy.”  
  
Sinon was giggling when Kirito turned back to his comm device, but after a quick snarl, she quickly regained her composure. “Okay, okay. Sorry about that.”  
  
On Irina's signal, the three cars drove out of the West Gate, going down the same route to FN Site 117. Asuna traveled slower than the others, still trying to master the stick shift. Oblivious to the rookie, Klein and Irina quickly sped out of sight.  
  
“Asuna? I think you might wanna speed up.”  
  
“Okay, okay! Just let me take this turn.”  
  
After banking to the right, Asuna increased her speed, looking for her allies. Further ahead, she saw the both of them stopped beside a tree. Kirito heard Irina on his comm device, trying to plot out their route.  
  
“Up ahead is site 117. We want to take a right onto South Janpath Plain, and travel up the cliffs nearby. That's where the alien camp is. And Asuna, if you can hear me, a little bit more gusto would be nice in this tornado.”  
  
Asuna hit her forehead on the steering wheel, honking the vehicle's loud horn. The six players ahead turned back toward her audible presence, as many of the indigens nearby ran from the source of the noise. When she stopped near Klein and Irina, those two exited their cars, being followed by their passengers. Kirito and company followed suit. Looking past the familiar green expanses, Kirito ran to his right, passing around a declining cliff face, into a connecting plain. Coating the grass were groups of wide, peach-colored flowers, sitting atop black bulbs. Silica stared at them with a wide smile, while Lis looked at them in amazement.  
  
“Imagine what it would be like to take care of one of these things.”  
  
“I know! It's almost like a small tree!”  
  
Lis mumbled to herself. “I'd probably just get an actual tree.”  
  
Silica and Lis began walking toward the batch of flowers, when one of them weakly shook its petals. Silica was caught off guard, and looked extremely surprised.  
  
“D-did that flower's petals just twitch?”  
  
Lis turned over to her. “Twitching flowers? Did you get enough sleep last night?”  
  
“I swear I saw it move.” Silica saw the others walking closer, and yelled at them. “Guys! Don't get any closer!”  
  
Kirito looked back at her. “Huh? What's going on?”  
  
“The flowers! They're moving!”  
  
Irina swiftly spun around. “Moving flowers? Are you sure?”  
  
“Yeah. Just watch that one.” She pointed toward the twitching flower. Kirito's party stood deathly still, Irina and Leafa moved their hands closer to their hips, where their knives were. Nothing happened for around fifteen seconds, and doubt was beginning to arise among the players.  
  
“I don't think-”  
  
Suddenly a rustle. Another one of the flowers lightly shook. Leafa took a moment to think.  
  
“That's strange, but are you sure it isn't the wind?”  
  
"The wind wouldn't make petals shake like that, would they?"  
  
“Hmm, you're right.” She drew her assault rifle. “Irina?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“We're going to try something. Mind giving us support?”  
  
“Got it. Gwin, let's pull back for now.”  
  
Gwin and Irina ran back behind some rocks, while the rest of the party drew their weapons. Sinon drew her new sniper rifle, taking aim at one of the twitching flowers.  
  
“Let me take the first shot from afar. Silica, Lis, and Kirito. I want you three to support me, so you can all get levels.”  
  
The three who were called walked forward, nodding in agreement. The rest scattered around, continuing toward the objective.  
  
“Time to see if these flowers like a little Shrapnel.”  
  
Sinon knelt down, and fired one powerful shot from her rifle. The bullet tore straight through the flower petal, and it leaped into the air with a deafening screech. When it reached the peak height, it began to hover in the air, showing off its three blue eyes, four stubby legs, and high-speed facial wings.  
  
Leafa grabbed Asuna and Klein, and ran behind a different rock. “Oh, now I would definitely prefer a normal tree.”  
  
When the battle interface appeared in their displays, the “Plant Mortifole” had lost one eighth of its health. A green circle locked onto one of its petals was also halfway drained. The Mortifole began flying in the middle of the four fighters, and began to ring like a bell. Kirito, Lis, Silica, and Sinon all knelt down while covering their ears. Lisbeth reached to her back, grabbed her Assault Rifle, and tried to fire at the Mortifole's petals.  
  
“Gah! Could you just die so we don't have to listen to that?”  
  
The enemy stopped ringing, and three more Mortifoles uprooted themselves. While everyone regained their composure from the noise, all four of the enemies rose high into the air, and started to spray thick, fluffy spores. Each one homed in on a combatant. Kirito and Silica took their rifles, and began shooting at the incoming spores, seeing them burst upon receiving a bullet. Sinon was running away from the spores, and the fight, as she slowly targeted each spore with her sniper rifle. They kept coming like a blanket of fog, and eventually, the cloud was too dense to destroy with a slow firing weapon. One spore flew underneath Sinon's nose. Her adrenaline was flowing quickly, giving no chance to hold her breath, and she breathed in the white spore. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she felt both her energy and will to fight being drained away.  
  
“Suddenly… so… sleepy.”  
  
Sinon collapsed to the ground, snoring.  
  
Lis turned when she heard Sinon hit the ground. “Ah! Sinon!” The Mortifole was quickly closing in. “You stay away from her!” She took aim at it's damaged petal, and fired a burst of lead into it, further draining the part's health. Irina emerged from cover, running toward Sinon.  
  
“I've got her! Just keep shooting the appendage!”  
  
“You don't have to tell me twice!”  
  
Lis attracted the Mortifole's attention, while Irina knelt down by Sinon.  
  
“Can't have you sleeping on the job. Here, Repair!”  
  
Irina pulled out her knife and held it in front of her. The blade began growing a vibrant green, then transferred the aura to Sinon, waking her up.  
  
“Ugh... is it morning already?”  
  
“I wish. Now wake up and shoot the roses.” Irina ran back to her and Gwin's hiding point.  
  
“Oh! Right! I'm sorry.” She turned back to her squad mates, who had defeated two of the Mortifoles, and were finishing off the first one. As Sinon took aim through her scope, she could hear Silica cheering Kirito on.  
  
“Yes! You're doing great!”  
  
He was dodging the Mortifole's tackles, and promptly attacking with his knife. One of its petals were missing, presumably from damage. As it began to spin faster and faster, Kirito tensed his muscles and prepared to jump to the side. The enemy charged full speed at Kirito, giving him very little time to react. He tried to dive out of the way, but was sent flying by the Mortifole's petals.  
  
“Ack! Why you...!”  
  
Kirito dashed toward the creature, as it screeched in his direction. He lunged forward, and thrust his knife straight through the flying flower's eyes, making it fall to the ground, and writhe in pain. After a few seconds, the creature disappeared into sparks, giving it's materials and experience readily. Kirito sheathed his knife, and stretched his arms high into the air.  
  
“I need a breather after that one. What about you guys?”  
  
Sinon was walking closer, until stopping to lean on her rifle. “Not too badly. We should probably find the others before taking a break.” She looked up. “Wait, wasn't there a fourth one?”  
  
“I don't remember. Maybe it ran away. We did put on a good show.”  
  
“Sure, whatever you want to think. Anyway, you have any idea where the others went?”  
  
“Didn't they go behind that rock?”  
  
“I think only Irina and Gwin are there.” They came out from behind it. “See?”  
  
“Then what about the-- huh? Hold on, I'm getting a call.”  
  
Quickly reaching into his pockets, Kirito produced his comm device, where a display appeared in front of him. The other group was sitting against a jeep, Klein in the center.  
  
“Hey, where are you guys?”  
  
Asuna took the device out of Klein's hands, cupping her mouth with her other hand. “Keep your voice down! We found the camp.”  
  
Kirito reduced his voice to a whisper. “What? Where?”  
  
“Behind this wreckage. Something tells me if this is here, those aliens aren't too friendly towards humans.”  
  
Sinon poked her head besides Kirito's. “Maybe they thought we were trespassing. If we explain things, perhaps things will be better for us?”  
  
“Well, if you guys could get up here, that would help, too.”  
  
“Then maybe you could have told us you were leaving?”  
  
“Okay, sorry about that. If it's any consolation, we did get attacked by another Mortifole on the way here.”  
  
“Fine. Are there any guards?”  
  
Klein scooted into view. “Two of them. Big, tall, purple guys with masks. I think they might be crazy, since they're talking to a blue turnip, or something.”  
  
“A... turnip?”  
  
“The weird part is, the turnip is actually talking back.”  
  
Sinon turned to her allies and cut the call. “We need to see this. Let's go.”


	7. New Races, Familiar Faces

Klein gazed down the hill, looking for any signs of the first group. Without moving his head, he whispered to Leafa, peeking out from the rear of the jeep.  
  
“Any updates?”  
  
Leafa nodded. “Looks like the turnip is shivering.”  
  
“Doesn't feel cold out here. Are the big ones doing anything different?”  
  
“A third one came out. The other two have their guns pointed right at it's face.”  
  
“Gah! If those guys don't get here soon, we'll have to take them out ourselves.”  
  
Asuna nudged Klein's arm in disapproval. “There's no way we can take out those three things by ourselves. Remember, we're not here to fight.”  
  
“Well, one of those two things is gonna try and kill us, I know it. And there's no way that blueberry has any beef with us.”  
  
“Quiet, you two! They stopped talking, they could hear us at any moment!”  
  
“Forget it. Asuna, let's continue the mission. If things go south, we can take them.”  
  
“Fine. Not having Yui here is going to make this a little tough.”  
  
The three of them ran out from behind the jeep, and slowly trekked to the four aliens. As they got closer, they could hear what came out to be a deep, aggressive voice, followed by a feminine, higher pitched voice. Klein moved his hand closer to his back, where his Longsword was. The three purple bodies glanced at them, before angrily turning back to the shivering turnip creature. Klein, Leafa, and Asuna quickened their pace.  
  
“Alright, potato! This was not part of deal! Who are they?”  
  
“W-wah! Pina did not know they were there! D-don't shoot!”  
  
“Get out of our sight!”  
  
The blue turnip hastily fled from the guards, and dove behind a large rock. The other three aliens turned to the players, with their guns raised.  
  
“You have no business here. Leave now!”  
  
Asuna hesitated, before speaking commandingly to the aliens.  
  
“We've been sent here on behalf of humanity. We would like to form an alliance with you. Please take us to your leader.”  
  
“The Prone make alliances with no one. We are only allied to the Ganglion.” Leafa and Klein drew their Longswords.  
  
Asuna felt tension rising in her bones. “Then we would like to discuss terms with-”  
  
“There are no terms to discuss. If you are humans, then you die!”  
  
She closed her eyes. “If that's how it is, then so be it.”  
  
Asuna unsheathed her Photon Saber, taking note of her new set of Arts. The three of them charged toward the Prone soldiers, but their faces turned to shock as they opened a flurry of laser fire upon the player. While Klein and Leafa dodged to the side, Asuna dove to the ground and ducked under the stream. As she looked up, the middle Prone had disappeared, while the other two were dueling Klein and Leafa. She picked herself off the ground, and ran in between the soldiers. By raising her arm into the air, her Psycho Launchers deployed from her back, and began spinning above her. Leafa took this as a sign to get out of the way, but Klein was too caught in the heat of the moment. Soon, a small area around Asuna was being showered by her own laser blasts. She struck the two Prone beside her, but a stray shot hit Klein in his right shoulder, causing him to drop his sword. His health didn't decrease, but he still felt a painful sting.  
  
“Agh! Watch where you're aiming!”  
  
“Sorry! Are you hurt?”  
  
“It stings! A lot!”  
  
Both Prone turned to Asuna, eliciting a worried look, and lunged at her. She readied her saber, and the Prone in front of her raised his rifle to use as a club. They swung at the same time, Asuna aiming for her foe's legs, the Prone swinging down toward Asuna's head. She was smashed to the ground, while the Prone fell to its side to clutch its knees. Asuna struggled to stand up, but she was effortlessly lifted from the ground by her neck from the Prone behind her. It holstered its rifle, and took off its mask, revealing four wriggling tentacles and a toothed mouth in the center, similar to an octopus. When she felt the slimy appendages wrap around her head, she began struggling more intensely.  
  
“No, no! Not again!”  
  
Leafa and Klein both ran to the Prone soldier, and attacked at different angles. Leafa slid at its legs, tripping it up and forcing it to release Asuna, then Klein leaped behind it and thrust his sword through its neck, tearing away the last of its hit points.  
  
“Thanks, you two. No way I was going through that again.”  
  
“Talk about kiss the cook. Or maybe eat the cook in this case.”  
  
Leafa turned toward the towering walls in front of them. “Wait, wasn't there a third?”  
  
“Come to think of it, didn't it go inside the base?”  
  
Their inquiry was interrupted by a bouncing blue ball bounding above them.  
  
“Yes! Yes! Friends save Pina from bad Prone!” It spoke excitedly, sounding like a little girl up close.  
  
Klein was caught off guard when it landed in his arms. “What the?! The bread loaf is back!”  
  
“Huh? Pina is no bread loaf! Pina is Nopon warrior looking for her partner!”  
  
Leafa's eyes went wide. “Pina, you say? What's the name of your partner?”  
  
“You want to know Pina's partner? Well, friend's name is Silica. Do you know her?”  
  
“Well, yeah! It's me! Leafa!”  
  
“Leafy? Is it really you? Does that mean these are friends Klein and Asuna?”  
  
They nodded. “Wow! This is great! But... um, where are the others?”  
  
“I don't know. They should have been here at least five or six minutes ago.”  
  
They heard the marches of an army on both sides of the road. There were metal limbs and heavy boots slamming across the dirt from inside the base, and scurrying shoes further down.  
  
“Is it them?”  
  
“Maybe, but it doesn't sound like we have a choice to stay.”  
  
“Yeah, let's retreat.”  
  
Leafa picked up Pina and placed her on her back, then took the other two's arms and began sprinting down the hill. On the break of the slope, she could see Kirito's party running toward them, waving. She tried to yell an order at them.  
  
“Don't go this way! Fall back! They've got an entire army coming through up here!”  
  
Kirito's happy expression faded, but he kept running toward Leafa.  
  
In a short span, the two groups met up, but the reunion was unfortunately short lived, as they passed each other quickly. Sensing that something had gone amok, Kirito turned around and followed the three fleeing fighters.  
  
“Hey, what's going on? What happened?”  
  
“Long story short, no peace treaty. Just war. I'll explain the furball when we get back to our vehicles. I think Silica and Yui will be pleasantly surprised.”  
The entire squad ran down the cliffs, leaping over the rock faces instead of traveling through perilous flower fields. In very little time at all, they found their cars parked by the initial incline, and the orderly sounds of a marching army faded away into the skies. Leafa hopped up onto the back of one of the jeeps, and held Pina out in front of everyone, like a painting or a new toy.  
  
“Everyone, meet the all new Pina!” She tossed her toward Silica.  
  
Silica held her arms far in front of her, and hopped high to grab the familiar face. “Pina? When did you get such a makeover?” She hugged her. “And you're as soft as a pillow, too!”  
  
Yui emerged from behind Asuna, hearing the commotion being formed. “Pina was transferred into the game files as well? I'm not familiar with it's new look. Maybe it can explain what it is to us while we adore it's cute face!”  
  
“Yes, Pina have lots of explaining to do. But for friends' sake, it will be short. I am a Nopon, a race of traders that mysteriously came to this planet. There's plenty of other people like me, but they travel around Mira in caravans.”  
  
“So we can meet more of you?”  
  
“Yes. And we're no slouches at fighting either! Nopon have special biter that goes POW POW and makes bad guys go OW OW!”  
  
A soft giggle emerged from Yui. “I'm so glad to see you back!”  
  
Everyone laughed at the simple revelation, Klein lightly pounding his knee. “Well, I wanna see you in action then, tough guy!”  
  
“Ooh, Pina will show you her strength!” She began to punch the air in front of her.  
  
Gwin and Irina were waiting by the second jeep. “Isn't that interesting. An AI transferred from a game made with the Seed.”  
  
“Well, everything seems to be adjusting to it well. They all seem to be having fun.”  
  
“You're right. But you know the first thing we'll need to do when we get back to BLADE HQ is to report this to Vandham, right?”  
  
“I hope they don't ruin the little guy.”  
  
Irina sighed. “If they're having fun with the game legally, why should the GMs stop them? I don't think we could change anything about it, anyway.”  
  
“Well, we need to get back anyway. Whoever is influencing the game is already making quite a few changes to the story.”  
  
Irina called back to everyone else, who were talking among themselves. “Hey, guys! I think we've spent enough time admiring your friend! Let's head back!”


	8. Into Oblivion

As the numbers on BLADE Tower ticked down, its occupants monitored every inch of the known lands. Nagi and Vandham looked down at the active player list, which was diminishing with each passing minute. While their frustrations grew, Irina and Gwin let themselves into the conversation.  
  
“Sir!” Irina began with a firm salute. “We're reporting in from the negotiation mission.”  
  
Nagi turned around, his face evident of anger. “Irina! I need someone to break this tension. I assume you have good news?”  
  
“Depends on your definition of good. The aliens are hostile, and refused any negotiations.”  
  
“Are they an immediate threat?”  
  
“They didn't appear to be moving past their base, but they had a powerful army in wait for intruders. We had to retreat.”  
  
“I see. Is there anything else?”  
  
“Yes. At the site, we stumbled upon the Nopon race.”  
  
“Anything out of the ordinary about it?”  
  
“It claimed it already knew Kirito's party, and had a close relation to one in particular.”  
  
“What? How is that possible?”  
  
“I'm not sure. That entire group has got a strange feeling. From the way they described their prior experience, and just how knowledgeable about the MMO genre their little girl is.”  
  
Vandham quickly intruded. “Well, if they've got information, we need to get it out of them.”  
  
“Should I start interrogating them?”  
  
“You've done enough, Irina. I think someone with a more delicate tongue would get through to them better. Someone like Lin, or Hope. The two of you are dismissed.” Irina and Gwin both gave a final salute, and walked out of the building.  
  
Back at the barracks, however, Kirito's group was still discovering more about Pina's past. As she talked more about how she appeared in the game, one vital point stuck out. She had woken up in a caravan, in the western continent. She mentioned how trade between humans and Nopon could be good for both parties. Through that droning, they determined a new mission, and began to gear up for the journey. Through the shop terminal in Armory Alley, each member bought new weapons, except for Kirito. He was still stuck in the Drifter class, and had no need for weapons. Liz nudged the rest of the team toward the R&D terminal, but was unsuccessful in her hints.  
At the East Gate, they boarded two more of the armored cars, Pina staying inside of a bag on Silica's back. They took no hesitation in speeding out of the city, driving down the all too familiar route. When they reached the South Janpath Plain, drivers Klein and Lis took a sharp left turn, heading toward the nearby lake. Multiple Millesaurs were drinking out of it, while smaller creatures playfully swam in the water. There was a group of otter like creatures doing high dives into the lake, catching the passengers' interest. Asuna looked behind the jeep, and saw another Millesaur walking toward the lake.  
  
“Hey, looks like that one has some red markings.”  
  
Yui gasped immediately upon hearing red markings. “W-what?! Klein! Please drive faster!”  
  
“Yui? What's the matter?”  
  
“That creature is really tough! Nobody can beat it right now!”  
  
“I don't think anyone can beat a Millesaur, though.”  
  
“Mommy, please look at its level.”  
  
“Um, alright.” She turned back toward the creature again, and scanned it. “Level... 92 tyrant!? Luciel, the Eternal? That's insane!”  
  
“And it's a vision type.”  
  
“How is that even remotely fair?! Klein! Floor it!”  
  
Klein heard the conversation in the back seat, and immediately began driving faster. Lis took the cue, and followed suit after looking behind them. It wasn't just the players that feared it, too. As it stepped closer to the lake, most of the creatures surrounding it stepped back and allowed Luciel to take a massive gulp. One Millesaur was brave enough to try fighting it, and reared itself high into the air. Luciel turned and accepted the duel, so the Millesaur dropped down and stomped the ground, creating a shockwave. Luciel stood its ground, then shook its back. Out of the four volcanic lumps on its back, four fireballs launched into the air, and rained down on the Millesaur. Each one struck its neck, producing a loud explosion. It tried to run away from the fight, toward the center of Primordia, but Luciel decided not to pursue it.  
  
Klein and Lis only heard small snippets of the battle in the background, as they were still focused on avoiding intervention. After driving past a few cliffs, and another set of plains, the party approached a land bridge leading into a sandy canyon. At the foot of the bridge, there was a tall beam of light extending into the air, showing another probe site. Leafa immediately took the opportunity to plant a probe, then continued into the canyon. Pina was now their only guide.  
  
“Yes, yes. This is where we need to be! I hear Nopon call it Sandy Bum Canyon, but Pina doesn't like that very much.”  
  
“Sandy Bum Canyon?” Lis responded with a snicker.  
  
Pina nodded. “That's right! But Pina took time to look at friend's map! I think you call this place Oblivia?”  
  
Sinon took out her comm device. “Let me check that.” She scrolled past Primordia, into the desert region. “That's it. Oblivia. There hasn't been anything revealed on the map, though. Everything is just dark. You know what to do, Leafa.”  
  
Silica and Yui exchanged a glance. “And we've got a lot more samples to take here.” They spoke cheerfully.  
  
“Then after we find this caravan, I say we split off and go on a little adventure here.”  
  
“Woohoo! Sounds like fun!”  
  
With their engines struggling in the desert heat, the two vehicles shot out of the canyon, where each passenger quickly noticing the massive rift in the sandy surface. Each driver quickly slammed their brakes, slowing down the jeeps as they inched ever closer to the cliff's edge. When they finally came to a stop, the metal hoods were nearly hanging over the land's end, along with the front wheels. Kirito and Klein exited their vehicle to investigate.  
  
“Damn, look at the size of this hole!”  
  
“Yeah, this isn't your ordinary pothole. Good thing we stopped in time.”  
  
Sinon and Silica decided to follow in their footsteps, checking over the edge of the cliff.  
  
“Ugh... I think I might get sick if I keep looking.”  
  
“There's probably a death plane down there. But what was the selling point of this game? If you can see it, you can go there?”  
  
Kirito turned to Sinon. “Well, we can't see the bottom, so we can't go there. Makes sense.”  
  
“Of course it does.”  
  
Pina emerged from Silica's back, leaning over her head to see Oblivia's landscape. “Oh, yes. Not the most welcoming entrance, but Nopon make good living here. All the way over there.” She said as she pointed across the continent. “Just a small climb.”  
  
“A small climb? Do you think we can make it before night falls?”  
  
“Hmm... maybe we can if friends hurry!”  
  
Silica moved back from the gulch, clutching her stomach. “Thanks, Pina. Let's get going, then.”  
  
The five of them returned to their vehicle, and slowly backed away from the gorge, turning left to continue traveling. They passed under an archway, where Klein drove the vehicle off of rocky ramps. To their surprise, as Klein was about to drive off the last one in the arch, it popped out of the ground, revealing a massive turtle-like creature burrowed into the earth. Its underside was glowing a bright orange. Klein's vehicle was flipped in the other direction, as the party jumped out before crashing into the dirt.  
  
“Oh crap, Vandham's going to kill me for that, but this sucker's going to pay first!” Klein drew his longsword.  
  
Liz stopped her vehicle, and sprinted to the damaged group on the ground.  
  
“Shoot, are you guys okay?”  
  
“Yeah, we're fine.” Kirito followed Klein's signal and drew his rifle, prepared to attack the new enemy species.  
  
The beast took the first strike, launching purple energy balls from small extrusions on its back. Yui warned everyone of the new type of attack.  
  
“Everyone, it's using a new elemental attack! We don't have the resistance for it!”  
  
The attack homed in on Silica and Asuna, who were beginning to step out of the way. Kirito dashed toward Asuna, and pulled her out of the way, leaving the shot to harmlessly explode on the ground. The second shot inched closer and closer to Silica, who was running straight away. She turned around upon hearing a metal clang. Liz had run to her side, and was struggling to block the energy with her knife and gun. Silica tried to assist her, by pushing on her back to provide extra force. Although the two of them were using all of their strength, the blast still overpowered the two of them. They were knocked to the ground, leaving Liz on top of Silica's stomach.  
  
“AHH! Liz! Please get off!” She spoke with a light blush.  
  
“Oh! Sorry!” Liz rolled off of Silica, and helped her up before returning their attention to the creature.  
  
Leafa and Kirito charged together with their knives, leaping up to strike the enemy's back. They slashed down, but their weapons simply bounced off of the tough shell. Only minor chip damage was dealt. Kirito flew backward, his back caked with dirt as he rolled to land.  
  
“Dang! There's gotta be a way to damage it!”  
  
He observed the beast, looking for any weak points. As it reared itself up to slam the earth, the answer was blatantly obvious. The orange bulge on its underside was exposed to everyone's view, and Kirito knew it was his opportunity to strike. He ran again, calling out to any one of his comrades.  
  
“Someone boost me higher!”  
  
Yui ran in front of the creature, just outside of where the area attack was predicted to hit. She planted her shield in the ground, angling it to make a slope capable of being run on. Kirito ascended above the ground, readying his knife to cut straight down the middle. As the monster began to slam its weight downward, Kirito stabbed the top of the vibrant sac. His body collided with it, and bounced off it as if he were on a trampoline. The beast continued moving down, screeching in pain as a tinted fluid excreted from the sac. Kirito felt his feet touch the ground again, so he bent his knees to avoid being crushed entirely. While he struggled beneath the behemoth, he found the strength to pull the knife across the bulge, opening a large cut and spilling out more of the fluid.  
  
While the creature's health quickly drained, it screamed visible sound waves toward the sky. The fighters ducked down and shielded their ears, while other “rocks” in the distance began to shake and shudder. With rocky knees losing energy, the sand turtle began to crush Kirito under its falling body. Yui sprinted with her shield drawn, fearing for her father's life.  
  
“Daddy! Look out!”  
  
She jumped and smacked the monster onto its side, eventually rolling itself onto its back. Unlike many other beasts, there was no final cry of defeat, only a low moan, then silence. The orange fluid continued to drip down the sac, which was losing its distinct glow.  
  
“Everything just wants us dead, doesn't it?” Kirito sheathed his weapons.  
  
“Yeah, but what part of everything is this?” Leafa inquired.  
  
“Wait! That's our job. Yui, let's do a quick scan.”  
  
Yui walked next to Silica, then the both of them pulled out their comm devices. They maneuvered to a menu, only seen by Curators. Each one chose a different option, and each one's device adjusted itself. A small needle, fit for extracting juices and small particles protruded from the top of the gadget. Silica's device revealed an opening in the back, where a lens shot out. Her display changed to that of the field, seen through the camera. Kirito ran up to Yui, intrigued by their work.  
  
“So is this how Curators take samples?”  
  
Yui responded gleefully. “That's right! I just need a small drop, and then I can analyze the components.”  
  
Silica hastily joined in. “And it's my job to identify,” Her face lit up after this statement. “And maybe even name the new creatures we meet!”  
  
“Don't people sometimes name stars and comets in the real world?”  
  
“Yes, Yui. People do. Maybe Asuna and I can find one, so we can name it together.”  
  
“Heehee! That's what it feels like!”  
  
Liz stood by Silica, looking cheerful. “Well, you aren't getting anything of yours by waiting around. Go ahead!”  
  
As Silica scanned the body, Yui inched toward the fluid that oozed out of the dulled sac. She sucked in a few drops of the substance, and waited for her comm device to provide details.  
  
“Um... from these readings, this substance seems to be very close to traditional alcoholic beverages.”  
  
“So it's like beer or mead?”  
  
“It appears to have closer properties to wine.”  
  
“Wine, huh? Well, that seems like a good thing to report.”  
  
Liz began studying the drink herself. “If only Agil were here. He could make a killing off of this stuff!”  
  
Kirito looked at her, then shut his eyes. “Maybe he would have. But better for him to be out there. He isn't in any danger.”  
  
“Okay. Now I need to transmit the data to BLADE HQ. May I have a moment?”  
  
Asuna crouched down beside her, reviewing the data. Or so she believed. “Of course, Yui. I... should go check on Silica. You can work with all of those numbers.”  
  
“Don't worry about me!” Silica spoke with a chipper smile. “I have an album of pictures ready to send. Just before we do, if we do get to choose the official names, can we think of something now?”  
  
Klein looked over Yui's shoulder at the data transfer. “Maybe I can help out here. That stuff is definitely wine. You know what kind it reminds me of, though? Topaz wine. The color, the way it moves, I'm sure I'm getting somewhere with this!”  
  
Sinon took no time to think of the name for the defeated beast, and paid small attention to Klein's suggestion. “About this creature, the way it burrows into the ground. It reminds me of a few things. The structure is very akin to tortoises, and the burrowing is not far off from a gopher's digging. But its extrusion, and its size make me feel like it could classify itself with personal tectonics. So perhaps... Tectoise? No... Tectonoise? Any other suggestions?”  
  
Leafa provided her own insights. “Isn't there a bug family that burrows into things?”  
  
“Hmm... the family Cydnidae? Yes, I can see the resemblances. Then the name could be... Tectinsula!”  
  
“That's perfect!”  
  
Klein was still talking with Yui about the beverage. “So, Topaz Wine?”  
  
“If that's the substance most similar to it, then choosing a name like that might make people happier to drink it!” Yui spoke with her trademark innocence.  
  
“Oh, I think they'll be very happy on their own...”  
  
Kirito checked his stats as he waited to progress. “With that out of the way, shall we get going?”  
  
Asuna stopped him before he could run off. “Hold on there, hotshot, I think you missed something special.”  
  
“Huh? What are you talking about?”  
  
“Check your rank.”  
  
She was right. Leafa, Lisbeth, Silica, and Kirito had reached the milestone of Rank 10 Drifter. It was now that they could diverge their weapon choices into more fitting territories. Liz and Leafa took the already familiar route, taking the route of a Shield Trooper and a Samurai Gunner respectively, but it was with Silica that things became different.  
“Um...Um... What do I choose?”  
  
She looked up and down at the weapon choices, worried that her original preference, the Psycorruptor, would not enable her peak performance because of a heavy Raygun.  
  
“Liz, what do you think?”  
  
“I think you'd do fine carrying a raygun! There's nothing you can't do with a little work, right?”  
  
“Okay, I'll do it, then!”  
  
Silica selected the Psycorruptor class, and waited anxiously to try her new gear. Her stats were the first to change. While her Maximum HP decreased, causing her to become frailer, she received large boosts to her Ranged Attack and Potential. Her Art palette changed to accommodate the new gun, then finally, a bulky cannon style weapon appeared on Silica's back. She stumbled as she accustomed herself to the increased weight, then tried to draw it, much to Liz's joy. It unfolded in a manner similar to a Gatling gun, but had one long barrel as opposed to many, and contained a knob and filled slot on the side, with a meter on top. The aluminum finish glistened in the harsh sunlight.  
“Woo! That's our Silica! How does it feel?”  
  
“Not as heavy as I thought. Maybe this won't be so bad after all!”  
  
“Now I wanna see how it handles.” Liz drew her shield and faced toward Silica. “FIRE AWAY!”  
  
“WHAT?! I can't! What if you get hurt?”  
  
“Don't worry! This thing can take a lot of heat.”  
  
Silica took a deep breath, and gripped the trigger with her small hands. She pressed back, and a hard bolt of energy fired out of the barrel. She felt no recoil, but saw the gauge start to fill. As the shot hit Liz's shield, she staggered slightly, in a display of the gun's power.  
  
“Dang! That thing's got a kick! Must feel good on your end, too.”  
  
“It's not that bad! There's almost no kick here!”  
  
“Well, keep firing, then!”  
  
Silica shot 5 more blasts of energy into Liz's shield, dealing minor chip damage with each blow. After the sixth shot, the meter on the gun was full, and steam began emitting from the slot on the side.”  
  
“Wh-what's going on? This isn't going to explode, is it?”  
  
Sinon jogged over to Silica, to help her with the weapon. She looked at the location of the steam, then noticed the knob on the side.  
  
“Try twisting that.”  
  
Without question, Silica followed Sinon's advice, and turned the knob on the side of her raygun. From the slot, a core partially ejected itself, glowing bright red and steaming. It rapidly spun, but was only slowly turning back to a steel color in the desert heat. After about 5 seconds, the core retained a dim light, but was cool to the touch. Silica returned both apparatuses to their original positions, and looked back at the gauge, which was empty.  
  
“I guess it's an overheating mechanic.”  
  
Pina popped out from Silica's bag, and took a good look at Silica's raygun. “Oh! Did friend get new toys to beat up bad guys with? Great! When we reach Dorian Caravan, Nopon will have many fine weapons to sell friends! Pina might even get discount!”  
  
“Hehe, since when did you become a businesswoman?”  
  
“Ever since this new makeover!”  
  
Everyone enjoyed a good laugh for the following moments. But then they all remembered the swan song of new weapons. It was time for Kirito to class change into a more fitting combat style.  
  
Asuna was quick to guess his thoughts. “Don't tell me... you want this one!”  
  
She pointed toward a class with weapons all too familiar to everyone. Winged Viper, containing Dual Guns, and Dual Blades.  
  
“You know me so well, Asuna. No sense in waiting.”  
  
He selected the option for Winged Viper, and watched the usual transition. He received bonuses to his Evasion, Melee Accuracy, and Ranged Accuracy. Before he received his weapons and Arts, he took a quick note on the futility of those stats.  
  
“Hang on, if combat is based on player skill, then why would we need those stats?”  
  
Sinon thought about the use of Evasion in an action based scenario. “Agility. Perhaps those stats pertain to your agility in combat.”  
  
“Hmm... I guess I feel a little more nimble. But now for what I really want.”  
  
His knife and rifle disappeared, and in their place was two swords... not sheathed how he expected. Kirito reached for the blades, knowing them to be sheathed on their flat sides. But they were positioned on their edges, leading to an awkward first draw.  
  
“Okay, that was a fumble. But I'm liking these things already.”  
  
The swords were bigger than those of ALO and SAO, containing steel blades and angled carbon hilts for easier slashes. Kirito put them away, and drew his other weapon, dual guns. He pulled two sub-machine guns from his shoulders, and aimed them like his old pistol from Gun Gale.  
  
Sinon looked mildly amused. “Two SMGs?” She snickered softly. “Aiming won’t be a problem, then. I’m sure you can just spray bullets and hit something eventually. Especially if you overload the particle count. That’s good, though. You always liked breaking limits.”  
  
“Tell me about it. Do you think that there's going to be some sort of limit break later on?”  
  
“Let's keep playing to find out. We've spent enough time here, time to get moving again.”

* * *

 

**In the real world**

* * *

 

As the sun began to set in Japan, a suited man lounged on a tall balcony. Looking on the city, he allowed the gentle breeze to play with his long hair. A glass door slid open behind him, and the red haired woman stood beside him, as the gale made her black dress wave in response.  
  
“Any progress?”  
  
“Too much. The players are already expanding into Noctilum and Oblivia.”  
  
“What about on our end?”  
  
“We've found a few things, but nothing major.” She looked to the bed indoors. “There’s something I'd like to take advantage of our resources for.”  
  
“Hm?”  
  
“There's... unfinished business I'd like to take care of.”  
  
“...If you plan to enter the game, I don’t know if we’ll be able to get you out.”  
  
“It doesn’t matter to me. I want revenge, and this is the perfect opportunity.”  
  
“To want it this badly, this… Kirito. He must have done a great number to you.”  
  
“He was the reason you found me in the state I was in.”  
  
“Then I’ll let you into the game. Just be careful in there until we find a way to get you in and out safely.”  
  
“Thank you, sir. Now that I told you mine, if I may ask, what are you planning to do with thousands of bodies?”  
  
“Every detail is not in order, but I'll tell you what I can. I'm looking for some sort of planet destroying weapon. Something the developers would have left as a raid boss. When it succeeds, the entirety of the player base will be left helpless.”  
  
“Do you plan on taking their lives, as well?”  
  
“I do. But that doesn't happen in the game.” The man turned toward the city. “It happens out here.”  
  
The woman's expression did not change, even as the wind blew her hair into her face. “I understand.”  
  
“Then you are dismissed. Make sure my boys aren't doing anything wrong with the code.”  
  
In silence, the woman walked away toward the sliding glass door. As she returned inside the tower, she reflected on a few thoughts.  
  
“Killing them. I never thought we would go into Laughing Coffin's territory. But we're not them. We'll make our name back. Even if we have to call ourselves the Ganglion.”


	9. Dark Depths

Away from the rocky arches and into the desert plains, the party journeyed onward through the scorching heat. Although inspired by new tech to master, the previous battle and the extreme conditions had left everyone exhausted. Yet there was only sand for miles ahead, ironically dampening everyone’s spirits. Klein jogged to the top of a nearby hill, sweating from exhaustion. From the bend, over the horizon, he thought he could make out a river beyond the dunes.

“Guys!” He spoke in between pants. “Water!”

Sinon was already skeptical. “Out here? A mirage. Must be.”

“No, really!” Klein broke into a sprint toward his visions, paying no attention to the gigantic rock beetles, Simius, flying narwhals, Terebra, and Potamus.

Liz’s first instinct was to chase after him. “Wait! Your ass is going to get killed out there!”

Klein stopped entirely to respond. “But, come on! We’re all exhausted!”

After catching up with him, Liz gave Klein a stern look. “I want to take a break as much as you, but let’s actually get there before doing something like that.”

“Yeah… yeah, of course.”

Sinon was scanning the surrounding beasts. “No names on a few things, but their size tells me we shouldn’t engage. Is there any way to see their levels without checking a corpse?”

With no hesitation, Yui and Silica both produced their comm devices. The camera function also allowed Curators to scan living creatures and plants, to be recorded in the future. The rock beetles in the distance were of a much higher level, definitely to be avoided at the time. The narwhals flying over the winding river were dashing too quickly to maintain a lock, so taking great caution, the party progressed toward the shore. Upon their approach, the flighty of the fliers began circling in the sky, speeding up to do tricks. The spectacle left everyone in awe, reminding them of fighter jet shows. The more docile of the bunch chased after the performers, but instead only improved the act by appearing like a dogfight.

As the show continued, the party used the spare moments to rest under the shade of the few trees by the river. Serenity and peace, it could be done in such a hostile environment. Sinon was mildly annoyed that Klein had been right about the river, but the cool water in the dry desert was worth the trouble. Kirito, Asuna, and Yui lie together in the sand, reminiscing about their memories of SAO.

“Don't you wish we could do this every day, Kirito?” She tilted her head in his direction.

Kirito took a moment to respond, as he returned his gaze. “Yeah. I guess it’s nice to take a break from all the battles every once in a while.”

Asuna giggled a little. “Maybe in a little more inviting place than the desert, though.”

“I don’t know. The heat’s keeping you awake this time.”

Asuna rolled next to Kirito, gently punching his arm. “It was just that one time!” Kirito laughed before she finished the statement.

Klein called over to the two, snapping them out of their moment. The rest of their partners were preparing to progress further toward the caravan. Silica was on a dune nearby, as Pina and she were scouting the path ahead. Further down the river, there was a tall waterfall blocking progress.

“Where do we go from there, Pina?”

“Ooh, big waterfall means friends are close! When we reach the big cliff, there is canyon path to the right.”

“Alright, thanks!”

Good rest, new energy, and a clear path. What could go wrong? Holding new resolve, the party marched onward to the cliffs. The land seemed to stretch on and on, remaining unchanged for miles. Creatures around the area were to the aid of boredom, however. Strange masked birds were practicing a dance routine, led by a single conductor with a trumpet-like horn on its head. Everyone took a small moment to watch the show, then traveled further.

Rushing rapids and crashing water filled the ears of the nine adventurers, as the air cooled down around them. Hordes of various creatures were gathered around a small watering hole, putting away all hostilities to enjoy the refreshing beverage. East of the lake was a small slope leading upward to perilous rocky platforms. In a familiar display, an adult and juvenile Simius stood out upon a stone protrusion, while the sun beat down on their thick fur. The adult raised a hand toward the sun, and the child followed, as if they were looking upon a kingdom of sand and mountains.

Of course, this provided a perfect opportunity to sneak past the beasts and avoid conflict. With an area as hostile as Oblivia was, the party couldn't take any chances with a fight. Moving past the cliff face, the land opened up into another canyon, with rock formations that seemed like a rib cage in the sky. Dotting the walls were plant growths appearing as purple alien lilies. Smaller ones were situated on the ground, some twitching, others with small leg-like features. In the air was a sweet smell, like syrup, that drew some of the indigens closer. The party watched those creatures, taking care not to get drawn in by the smell themselves. A monster with the appearance of a spider crab strolled into a group of three, as its pincers twitched. When it was just about to snap at one of the flowers, all three leapt out of the soil and latched onto the creature.

Seeing the area to be even more dangerous than earlier, the party attempted to sneak by the ensuing battle. Yet, they couldn’t help but watch in awe as two forces of nature struggled to make the other their meal. The flower mobs took turns biting at the spider’s legs, attempting to topple it. Trying to delay them, it shot webs from its face at the flower in front, to trap it. The bugs were too fast for the shot, as it whizzed by one of them while they dashed to the side. Their combat style was reminiscent of player combat, but this was still only AI.

Victory was closing in for the ambushers, as the spider grew weak and weary. Its legs gave way to another bright sac on its underside, which the bugs quickly pounced on and tore to pieces, ending in a gruesome death for the spider. Perfect for their evening meal. Wait… evening? Kirito scanned the sky with his eyes, seeing that the bright day was slowly fading. Night was to come soon, and they needed to reach the caravan before then.

Ignoring any other potential sights, everyone rushed down the canyon path, taking them down narrowing halls and curvy trails. Someone could swear they saw a tiny oasis off the beaten path, but there was little time to investigate. Pina was looking around while propped on Silica’s shoulders.

“Friends! Pina see cave in distance! Dorian Caravan is just through there!”

“Is it?” Liz spoke with strong relief.

Pina confirmed her belief, and offered another break before traversing the cave. This was something nobody objected to, and they optimistically glared into the darkness.  
“So, what kinds of things can we expect in here?” Kirito questioned.

“Traders pass through here all the time. It usually safe. Just the occasional Scripo!”

“Scripos, huh? Mind telling us what those are?”

“Scripos are big, bad spider monster! But they not too tough to kill. Just hit them in big sac!”

“Hmm, that must be the creature we witnessed earlier.” Sinon recalled the previous fight.

“Yep! Is everyone ready, now?”

“I’m not sure… that place looks a little scary, don’t you think?” Silica looked slightly nervous.

“Do not worry, Silica! Pina can give you dance of courage!” She did a little shuffle, using her flaps to hover and perform the occasional flip.

Which did exactly as it said on the label. Everyone couldn’t help but chuckle at the dance, and the tension behind the optimism faded away.

“Haha! Thanks Pina!” Silica was looking especially cheerful.

“Ooh, Pina can’t wait to show you something better!”

With that, there was no more delay pushing forward. Unfortunately, only one thing was clear in the cave. It was dark. Really dark. The squad could only decipher pieces of the path before them, although it seemed like there were no pit falls. Around halfway through, however, Klein was hit by a stroke of bad luck.

“BWAH! What the hell? What is this stuff?”

Liz turned back toward him, unable to make out anything on him. Or anything of him, for that matter. “I can’t see it, what is it?”

“It’s all slimy, and thick! Like something just drooled on me!”

“Oh, brother…”

So they kept moving, thinking nothing of it. A little further ahead, there was a crack in the wall, revealing some natural light.

“Whew, finally. Pina, didn’t you say traders use this route all the time?”

“Yes, yes!”

“Doesn't it seem a little dangerous for someone like you?”

“Huh? Ah! Friend must not understand. Nopon are actually very good fighters.”

Liz glanced over. “Really? I wouldn't expect something as soft as you to be able to fight.”

“Well, hiring guards is too expensive, so we learned to do it ourselves! Except Nopon need their weapon to fight. And Pina lost hers.”

Silica knelt down next to her. “So if we get you a new weapon, you can fight again, just like old times?”

“With more THWACK and FWOOSH! But not as much healing. Nopon tend to use fire, and ice, and biting. Just like ancient Heropon of legend!”

“That's a lot of lore to look into. Shall we get moving?”

“Okay!”

Everyone traversed further down the dark, dank path. Audible in the distance were faint clicks, not becoming louder, but more plentiful. In a branching corridor, the clicking stopped. The cave was completely silent. Then suddenly, a thud. The party turned around to see the spider beast Pina had mentioned. Except it wasn't just one. Many, many loud cracks and smashes sounded nearby, and from behind the corner, tens of Scripo lights rushed out to attack Kirito. Already intimidated by their numbers, Kirito scanned the enemies' levels.

“Whoa! High 40s! Low 50s! We can't take them on!”

Yui clutched Asuna's arm. “Mama, I think we should run.”

“Agreed.”

It wasn't hard to deduce the fear and nerve the party had as they hastily retreated from down the two tunnels, separating themselves into two groups. Kirito, Yui, Asuna, and Leafa ran through the left side, everyone else fled to the right. Skittering feet behind them, unknown obstacles in front, Leafa was becoming unsure about their survival.

“I don't know if we can make this, guys!”

Kirito, on the other hand, felt more determination to live than ever. “No! We're making it through this! None of us are going to die, I promise!”

Struggling to keep a steady breath, Asuna noticed something ahead. “Look! A light! Then end of the tunnel!

Further down, there were two lights of differing colors. One looked like the bright white of natural light, and the other was a fiery glow, spawned from a lantern. Within the light, many short, plump figures marched forward, oblivious to the danger. Kirito tried to call out to them.

“HEY! HEY! WE NEED HELP!”

They didn't move at first.

“COME ON!”

After that, the second group ran toward the first, carrying what seemed to be stitched, plush heads on sticks.

“More Scirpo? Come on fellas! Burners ready!”

Upon closer inspection, the second party appeared to be a Nopon party of around seven, who were forming a line to charge at the enemy.

“Charge!”

Each one ran full speed at both Kirito's group, and the Scripos. As the three parties closed their distance, the Nopons finally noticed the four players, and slowed their assault.

“Huh? Four friends? Get behind Rico!”

Again, no time was wasted moving behind hopeful support. When the Nopon approached striking distance, one raised their “hammer,” and chanted a couple quick words. As he spoke the phrase, a massive light engulfed the narrow tunnel, allowing everyone to maneuver properly. It revealed that Kirito was being followed by three Scripo, which the Nopon were finally about to attack.

The lead Scripo took the first attack, swinging one of its legs toward the Nopon, but was easily rolled underneath due to their height. Two of the Nopon teamed up to retaliate, one lifting up its hammer similar to the first Nopon, but this time spewing flames from the mouth, setting the Scripo's leg on fire. In a desperate attempt to put it out, it flailed across the cave, eventually toppling itself and revealing its spongy sac. Both Nopon ran toward it, as fast as their stubby legs could take them, then rolled forward and jumped into the air, hammers held high. They opened their mouths, and clamped them hard on the Scripo's sac from two directions. Large lacerations were left on the orange bulb, spilling out its lifeblood and quickly killing it.

Two were left. Learning from its leader's mistake, a second Scirpo bent over and attempted to bite one of the Nopon with its pincers. Not paying attention, one of the Nopon was scooped up by the attack, left crying for help from its teammates. The leader, presumably Rico, chanted a third unknown spell. From out his hammer's mouth came freezing winds, encasing the Scirpo in a shell of ice. Unfortunately, this included the Nopon inside its pincers. While the other Nopon distracted the third Scripo, Rico needed to think of a plan to free his friend before the ice thawed.

“Hmm... if Rico hit too close to Barst, then Barst get shattered! But what if Rico hit big beastie in legs?”

Rico used this plan and sprinted to the first leg. He swung his hammer to the side, immediately shattering the appendages and causing the entire shell to lose balance. Afraid of seeing both things break and die, Rico had to use his hammer as a support, until he heard the cracks of a thawing enemy. The ice broke, spreading cold shards across the battlefield, and causing the Scirpo to receive a rush of pain from its now missing leg. As such, it couldn't keep its pincers shut to hold an ear-piercing cry in, and released Barst to the rest of the Nopon. The third one had been killed in the commotion, and while Rico attended to Barst, the other five began their work on the final Scirpo.

“Barst! Is friend okay?”

He was covered in cuts, and was shivering from the cold. “I'mmmmm freeeeezingggg! Andddd bleeeeedingggggg!”

“Ah! Perfect! Then healing art will work bette- I mean oh no! Barst should not be in such pain!”

Rico chanted more magical words, and pointed his hammer at Barst. The bottom jaw dropped, and shot a green and purple stream. Kind of like poison, but this was no poison. It caused Barst to glow, and his wounds to shut. A healing stream is what it was.

The two of them looked back to the five Nopon, who had made short work of the already wounded Scirpo. Kirito, who had contributed absolutely nothing to the fight, stared in awe at the prowess of the Nopon fighters. Rico, noticing him just standing there, decided to introduce himself.

“You must be the four whose butts we needed to save! Yes, yes. I am Rico, strong Nopon warrior, guarding this humble caravan. But then, we all guard our wares with such fearsome strength!”

“Umm... yeah. I'm Kirito. We were looking for a way out of this cave. Is that it down there?” He pointed toward the natural light, which was dimming by the second.  
“That is correct, friend! That is also where Dorian Caravan lies, in a small oasis. You know, Rico feels quite generous today. You get free fight, and free info! No charge at all!”

“Oh, well that's just wonderful. I think we should find the others before we move on, though.”

“WAIT!”A look of horror manifested on Asuna's face.

“Hmm? What's the matter, Asuna?”

“We don't know what happened to them ever since we left the bend. They could still be running. Oh jeez, I hope they didn't hit a dead end.”

Rico was all too quick to eavesdrop. “The split further down? Oh! It leads off to a separate passage. It's much further to Rico's home, but it is on same path. Friends will be fine!”

“Okay, thank goodness. We should leave, now. Hopefully we can find them on that path.”


	10. Defiance in Death

**Warning: The ending of this chapter may make some squeamish. Read at your own risk.**

 

No more dank depths, instead the familiar canyons and sand of Oblivia. At the mouth of the cave, three women, a man, and a bulb emerged from the darkness. In front of them was a sight foreign to the desert environment. Underneath rock arches lie a massive lake, with its back to the sea. On either side, rivers fed out like arms off a torso.

“Just here. Down that river is where friends should be. Rico should go now, goods won't sell themselves!”

After being thanked, Rico took out a small light from his bag, and dived back into the shadows. The remaining quartet looked toward the lake, tempted to get a quick drink, but they noticed a small peninsula in the center. On it lie tiny structures, which they assumed to be the caravan. They took a note of the location, then turned the other way, following the riverbank. Nothing they hadn't seen before, canyons, sand, and alien plants. Further down, a loud shriek pierced the sky, followed by the blast of a rifle. The others must have gotten into another fight along the way.

“Hey! Did you hear that? That sounded like Sinonon's gun!” Asuna was really worried about her condition.

“No questioning that! Let's hurry!”

They rapidly increased their pace, as the gunfire in the distance became clearer. Seeing the river and the land drop, Asuna, Leafa, and Kirito took a huge leap off the ledge, where Silica, Sinon, Liz, and Klein were fighting off some living flowers. Yui took a different approach and used her shield to slide down the side of the wall, achieving the same landing position.

“We're here! Ready to fight!”

Without turning around, Sinon quickly summarized the situation. “Good. More false flora ambushed us. Nothing too big. Just the things we saw earlier. Five of them.”

She shot a bullet at one of them, knocking it down to the ground. Silica thrust her knife into its stomach to finish it, while Liz guarded her from the other four.

Sinon lowered her gun. “Four of them.”

The creatures were circling Liz, trying their best to flank her, but Silica kept blasting them away with her raygun.

“Alright Silica, things are looking good.”

“Yeah, yeah!”

Sinon had ceased providing sniper support, as two of the beasts swiped at her javelin. By quickly hopping back, she avoided the disarming strikes, and prepared to counter. She thrust three times at one, swept the area in front of her, and ended by lunging forward, while her spear was coated in electricity. The head punctured deep into the flower of one enemy, as blue sparks shot across its body. The second one, while wounded, charged Sinon from her right side, but was blown away by a distant Klein's gunfire.

“Got 'em! We're kicking ass out here! If Kirito were here to watch, man! He'd be ecstatic!”

There was only one left, this one much larger than the four lower mobs. The offensive party slowly approached it, backing it into a corner. It darted its head between Liz, Silica, and Sinon, deciding which one was the most valuable target.

“Okay, on the count of three, we charge. One, two…“ Liz tucked herself behind her shield.

Under intense pressure, the brute charged her.

“Three- WHOA, WHOA!”

Her head popped out to see a bullet reflect off her shield and into the sand. In the distance, Kirito stood with his gun drawn, aimed toward her. Gunpowder and smoke blew away from the barrel, freshly ignited. His first shot had grazed the side of the bug, drawing its aggro.

“You call the Royal Guard?”

As the two sized each other up, Kirito holstered his single gun, and drew both swords. They sprinted toward each other, with fierce determination behind every step. The alien leaped at Kirito’s head, to which he responded by sliding underneath. He quickly got back onto his feet, took a running start, and flipped into the air. With both swords high above his head, he uttered a battle cry before killing the monster.

“Back Slash!”

Then he finished killing the monster. The dark blades cut right through the petals on the beast’s flower, damaging it enough to knock it away. With the usual death scream in the background, the party collected their drops and prepared to move forward. Silica took a quick snapshot to send back to the city, with the rest acting impatient to get to the caravan at this point. The way there provided no obstruction, for once, so on the path, they kept a rapid conversation going.

“So, I gotta know, did screaming that art boost anything?” Liz eagerly asked.

Kirito scratched the back of his head. “No, not really. Something about it just felt right at the time.”

Not satisfied with his response, Klein started theorizing how it could help him. “Maybe it intimidates things, so they let their guard down!”

“Isn’t that the opposite of what happens when something is intimidated?”

“Well, you know how when you’re absolutely terrified of something, you have this moment of freaking out? And then you strike!”

“Huh. I guess I see your point.”

“Yeah! I’m totally gonna try it out!”

“And end up looking like a massive ham?”

“You guys already know I have my moments. Just let me try this once, okay?”

“Alright. Next battle, you go right ahead.”

A short while later, the caravan sat in front of them, isolated in the center of the lake. As they approached, a light drumming threw itself in the party's direction. They could see tiny turnips, even smaller than Pina, were running around a tree in the center of the peninsula. Closer to the tents, older Nopon were speaking about their businesses with each other. Sitting on a rug, surrounded by Potamus and various trade goods, was a green Nopon more nicely decorated than the others. Pina, pulling Silica by her wrist, ran up to it.

“Clarena! Pina has returned!”

“Oh? Has Pina finally brought friends?”

“Sorry! Pina go through too much in two days!”

“Tell Clarena details later. You there! Clarena was told that humans could help us!”

Silica acted as the diplomat in this situation. “Help you? What could we help you with?”

Clarena stood up, and began to flail in place. “Big Prone bullying us! They steal our goods and not pay!”

“That sounds terrible!”

“Nopon may be good fighters, but Ganglion have numbers! And we just have one caravan!”  
“Okay, I see. What do you want us to do?”

“Ganglion have many fortresses around here. We want you to defeat leader of one.”

Kirito smiled widely as he listened to the dialogue. “Classic hunting quest. Well, shall we?”

“One second. Clarena, what can we get out of this?”

“Humans live in big city, yes?”

“Yeees?”

“Dorian Caravan will set up trade with human city if you help us!”

“That's perfect! Thank you!” Now Silica held the massive smile. She turned back to the rest of the group, who were doing their own things with the other Nopon.

“Hey, everyone! We got a new quest!”

Leafa was first to hear, and she helped round the others up at the central tree.

“Alright, we can take a short rest here, and then go out for the quest.”

Liz surveyed the caravan. “I don't think there's many places to sleep around here. And I doubt this rest stop has a good diner nearby.”

Asuna came prepared for the latter. “Don't worry, Liz. You know I've got something ready for a meal.”

“Really? Oh, hell yeah!”

Kirito rubbed his belly, imagining what Asuna could have whipped up today. “Can't say no to Asuna's cooking.”

They sat underneath the tree's shade, enjoying their delicious meal. Kirito and Yui munched on spicy chicken sandwiches, as they would. Everyone else had their own dishes, having cheerful conversation as the sun began to set.

And then the engines started. Every Nopon turned their head to the sky as the sound of thrusters echoed in the distance. A group of soldiers marching on the caravan appeared on the land bridge, led by a tall, feminine alien. She had four waving tentacles protruding from her head, which was etched with the markings of corn row hair, except with alien skin. Her black armor completely covered her arms and shoulders, but leaving her thighs and the center of her bust highly exposed. She wore matching black boots, going all the way to her lower thighs and sporting very high heels. Walking very seductively, she advanced toward the party.

“Hmph. It's about time I found you all.”

Silica reeled back first, not knowing who this threat was. “W-who are you?”

“I'm sure you must be confused. To see someone so different. Someone like me.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“...I am Goetia. A member of the Ganglion. I'm not like these lowly Prone. Unlike them, I can get a job done. And my job now is to kill you.”

Kirito stood in front of Silica, drawing his sword. “Fat chance.”

“Ah, Kirito.” Goetia waved her head tentacles around. “I bet you want to play the role of the mighty hero again. Saving the day, getting the girl... and not seeing your loved ones die.”

Kirito's voice stuttered a little. “Enough talk! Are you here to fight?”

“How rude. You need to learn to respect your elders!”

“Don't worry. If this is all the firepower she's packing, this will be easy.”

On cue, two Prone soldiers ran to her sides, and three mechs hovered down to the ground, carrying a fourth by its arms. They had sleek, curved designs, with emphasis on the legs, definitely designed for mobility. They had missile batteries and laser cannons on their backs, and long talons hiding simple hands.

Liz looked ticked off, although not knowing the origins of Titan's Hand. “If I didn't have to smash those things, I'd love to try some metalwork on them.”

“Now isn't the time, Liz. Get ready for a fight. And a big one.”  
Goetia jumped inside the cockpit of her mech, located in the chest. After her mech started up, the two Prone soldiers took aim, and fired a volley of bullets. Yui and Liz jumped in front of everyone, using their shields to guard.

“Everyone! Behind us!”

The parties stacked behind Liz and Yui, guns at the ready. Pina had run off toward the caravan, specifically toward the trade goods. The rest of the Nopon were caught off guard, and therefore unequipped. They took refuge in their tents, preferring to wait out the battle over retrieving their arms.

When the enemy's gunfire subsided, Leafa, Sinon, Liz, and Yui responded with their own storms, providing cover for Kirito and Silica to lead the charge. The two Prone had taken cover, and were reloading their guns, so all four mechs boosted toward the melee fighters. Asuna, quickly darting back and forth across the battlefield, dodged one swipe of a claw, and parried another with her Photon Saber. Silica came face to face with another mech, raising its claw high in the air to swipe down. She blocked the swipe, but continued to struggle beneath the crushing force of hardened metals. Kirito ran in from the side, and deflected the arm away from Silica. His attack did little damage, but from the caravan, a blast of fire struck the robot.

“What the-?”

Silica turned back to the tents. Pina was sprinting with all her energy toward Silica, holding in her hand a brand new club.

“Silica! Look what I found! Are you hurt?”

“No, Pina. I'm fine. Thanks a lot.” In the small moment of respite, she picked up Pina and tightly hugged her.

Klein was blocking and parrying attacks from two different mechs, seeming confident on his own, but slowly being sapped of his energy. He saw one coming straight for him, and prepared a heavy slash to knock away a claw attack. At the proper timing, he sliced the robot three times, once down, once right, once up. It was a solid strike, for decent damage against the enemy. In his triumph, however, the mech behind him had prepared a missile strike, and launched a salvo of explosives toward him. When he turned around, it was too late. The rockets had struck the ground around him, blowing him far from the fight. Sparks occasionally shot out of his chest and leg, where shrapnel had grazed him.

At this point, the mechs were fighting with their long ranged weapons, quickly turning the tides. Silica and Pina were fighting off a singular mech with their own energy blasts, staving it off for a time. A ball of flame struck its leg, knocking it off balance. Unfortunately, it quickly recovered, and charged a laser blast from its shoulder. Moments later, a powerful beam shot straight into Silica's hip, blasting her back to the other four. Pina ran after her, preparing a healing art, but was also shot in her soft spine, blowing her straight into Sinon's stomach. Sparks occasionally flew out of Silica's hip.

Asuna was fighting three mechs now, and for a while, she parried many blows, and dodged the rest. She couldn't keep up forever, though. Her stamina slowly seeped away, and one enemy landed a lucky blow to her legs, tripping her, and leaving a huge gash on her ankle while she curled in pain. Purple blood and sparks flew out at an alarming rate.

Only Leafa, Liz, and Yui were left in the back. Kirito was occupied in a confrontation with Goetia's mech. They opened fire on the soldiers, being reinforced each passing moment. The platoon was gunned down, but the three mechs had been charging their laser cannons. All three fired at the ground in front of the players, blowing sand in their eyes. They tilted toward the sky, and shot many vertical missiles, locked on to the group. When the dust cleared, Yui tried to tackle Leafa out of the way, and block their position with her shield. Liz was left in the center of the missiles, being obliterated by half the swarm, the other locking on to Yui. After two detonated, the force proved to be too overwhelming for her, and she was killed in the blast.

Kirito was the last one left. All of his friends had been incapacitated by this point. Goetia's mech signaled to the others to retreat. She wanted to handle him solo. Kirito was battered by her previous attacks, while the others bravely fought. Goetia boosted forward, her mech's hand clenched in a fist. Kirito held his swords in a cross guard, in a futile attempt to preserve his own life. He was alone on the battlefield. No passive regeneration to save him now. The pressure of Goetia's fist pushed down on Kirito's swords, and with every second, he felt his muscles aching, crying out to stop. But he knew he couldn't give up. Not after he watched his friends die again. Not after he saw Asuna on the battlefield, heavily damaged, and Yui mercilessly destroyed. Goetia raised her other hand, and scooped Kirito into it. She held his arms down, leaving his legs dangling.

“Ha ha ha!” Her cackle sounded like a murderer's. “You didn't think you could beat me, did you?”

“Who... the hell... are you?” Kirito's voice was weak.

“I am the one who will destroy all you have come to love. The Knight of the Blood. That puny beast tamer.”

“How... do you know them?”

“It's a shame you don't remember me. The one you left to rot in prison. The day you revealed who I was to the other players.”

“Just... tell me... your damn name!”

“My, my, quite impatient! You may call us the Ganglion. And you may call me Rosalia.”

She used her free hand to grab Kirito's legs, and began to pull. Kirito felt every single bone in his spine begin to warp, and crack. Letting out one final scream of agony, Kirito felt his legs separate. Blood splattered across the torso of Rosalia's mech. She had torn Kirito in half. His friends, his lover, his daughter, their bodies had disappeared, presumably to be revived by GMs. Kirito's two halves were left alone in the dunes, as the sun set. Blue and purple fluids made a bridge between them. If one had looked inside the remains, there would be sparks. There would be wires. But what there wouldn't be... was a human.

“The deed is done. Titan's Hand, I have made amends.”

 


	11. Puppets

He could see nothing. He could feel nothing. He could hear nothing. But he was there. He somehow continued to exist after death. Then he heard voices. Muffled voices. Kirito couldn't make them out, but he began to feel something. There was a mask on his face. He wanted to take it off, to escape this metal tomb, and run into Asuna and Yui's arms. The voices stopped, and Kirito regained his senses. All except his voice. He could not scream, nor call out. All he could do was watch the figures outside. The glass was clear, so he could see three people. One was Vandham, one appeared to be Yui, and the last was unfamiliar.

Vandham spoke first, albeit still muffled.

“Hey, kid, you awake? You know the drill. Blink once for yes.”

Kirito stared at him, first, neutrally, then angrily.

“I'll take that as a yes.”

The unfamiliar figure, a tall woman, with dark skin and long, silver hair, began to talk.

“Alright, I know you must be extremely confused right now, maybe even angry.” Her voice was commanding, but not in the same way as Irina's. “But bear with us for a moment. We'll try to explain to the best of our abilities.”

“Yui” began speaking, but with a different voice than what he was used to.

“We're going to let you out of the pod now. Don't rush anything. Your friends are just fine.”

The pod door lifted up, ejecting steam from the bottom, and revealing Kirito's fully clothed body.

“Start by taking off the mask.”

Kirito shifted his right arm, a little to the left, then the right. He slowly lifted both arms, and cupped the breathing mask on his face. With a light tug, the mask popped off and was retracted to the top of the pod.

“Alright.” Vandham's gruff voice cut through the droning of machinery. “Fortunately, or not, you can speak now. Ask things one at a time.”

“Where is everyone else?”

“Just look around.”

Kirito panned his head around the facility. All across the walkways, there were egg-like pods similar to his, all filled with other players. NPC workers darted between them, carrying air tanks, limbs, and robotic parts. The whole thing seemed like a hatchery in a movie about aliens.

“What the...?”

“Impressive, or horrifying, depending on who you are.” The woman turned back to him.

“What's... going on here?”

“Clones. Or more precisely, mimeosomes. You're probably more familiar with the term cyborg.”

“So... none of us are human?”

“Not entirely. Our bodies have organic pieces, like vital organs and blood flow. But things like our bones, and other organs are completely robotic. That should explain a lot of the game mechanics.”

“Like no falling damage, or the display?”

“That's right. Is that all?”

“No. Why aren't you telling this to the other pla-”

Nagi rushed to Vandham's side, clearly exhausted.

“Commander, there's a serious issue.”

Vandham raised an eyebrow. “I know you mean well, but I'm trying to ring this guy in. What's the problem?”

“300 players, suddenly wiped from the list. Not alive, not in here, nor queued to be restored.”

“WHAT?”

“The hackers, they must be killing players off in the real world!”

“That's impossible. Weren't they all moved to secure hospitals?”

“Yes, they were, but there had to have been some they missed.”

Vandham looked to the ground, and kicked a nearby railing. “Dammit! We weren't strong enough to save everyone!”

Nagi walked next to him, once again. “Vandham... this is war. War will always have casualties.”

“Innocent people like this? Dead?”

“I'm afraid that's the truth. We need all the strength we can get. I'm going to make an announcement about our mimeosome bodies, and the abilities they provide, story integrity be damned right now.”

“Hey... commander?” Kirito called out.

“Look, I know you still have questions, but-”

“No, that's not it. I've been keeping a lot of secrets from you, and once you bring my friends out, I'll tell you what I know.”

“Elma, Lin, I need you to exit the building.” They nodded, and promptly left. “...Bring them out.”

One by one, Asuna, Yui, Leafa, Lisbeth, Klein, Silica, and Sinon were ejected from their pods, and brought up to speed.

“Robotic bodies? That certainly is a strange feeling.” Sinon looked at her own hands, looking for any sort of proof.

“That's it, Kirito. They're out. Now tell us what you know.”

Yui tugged at Kirito's arm. “Papa? What does he mean?”

“I think you better start with her.”

“Okay, okay! Let me start where I need to. We're all survivors of the SAO incident. You've heard of it, right?”

“Can't say I have. But then again, I'm part of the American branch of the studio.”

“To keep it short, really similar scenario, just not in space and without guns. There were a bunch of criminal guilds there, one of which was named Titan's Hand. They were small scale, but somehow they grew large enough to pull off a stunt like this.”

“Right. Titan's Hand. Any relation to this Ganglion troop?”

“Same people.”

“Got it.”

“Next, Yui is an AI, someone who we met in SAO, and imprinted on Asuna and me. Complex family tree.”

“I'm a little confused about one thing, that I care to mention. If it weren't for the eyes, I would've thought that was Lin. So how in the hell is she in the same unique attire as her?”

“Yui?”

“Well... when I converted to this game, I really wanted to play like you and Mama. So I may have inhabited some player data that happened to be really similar to me.”

Vandham didn't look amused. “Of all the players, you pick a GM to copy.”

“Lin is a GM?”

“I'm sure you've seen a lot of faces around here. Irina and Gwin, Elma and Lin, hell, maybe even Cross. They're all developers, and therefore GMs. We've got a few others, but I won't say who they are right now.”

“Right. So does that end our exchange of information?”

“It does. I think you all should go, now. Nagi's preparing his speech. And I think you deserve a bit of a break after being killed.”

“Good... point.” Kirito was in awe of how lightly Vandham had just taken their deaths.

“And, look, I'm glad there's someone who knows what they're doing in a time like this.” Vandham looked genuinely thankful.

“Thanks. We won't let you down.”

The party left the facility, the sign outside indicating it as the “Mimeosome Maintenance Center.”

“What the hell just happened?” Klein screamed in utter awe.

“So we're all robots, Titan's Hand is after us, and... GAH!”

“Okay, this whole mimeosome thing is pretty darn strange. But you know what, guys?” Lisbeth turned to the group. “This isn't going to change a thing. It's just a fancy way to respawn. I can still swing a hammer like the best of them, Asuna can still kick a load of ass, and Kirito is still a black-clothed beacon.”

“Liz? This is a little out of the blue.” Leafa seemed startled by the sudden shift in tone.

“It's either this, or be shocked for three days straight. Pretty good choice I made.”

“You've got a point, I guess.”

Just then, they heard a loud microphone screech from BLADE Tower.

“Must be Nagi giving his speech. Let's go listen.”

The party dashed to the front of the tower, where every player was lined up to listen. Nagi wasn't positioned on a large screen, but instead on a podium set up on an overlook.

“Gallant soldiers, I have so much to say to you. For weeks, we have been fighting a threat unknown to us. And there has been progress on both fronts. Firstly, I would like to thank eight brave players, for traveling into the depths of the unknown Oblivia, and locating an alien tribe. Since then, we have made contact with them. Unfortunately, these players were not alive in the three days it has taken to establish trade.”

Asuna's eyes grew wide. “We've been out for three days?”

Kirito turned to her. “I guess so. When I looked around, every pod was full. And Nagi did mention some sort of queue.”

“Next, I would like to congratulate our architects and Mediators here at home, as the expansions to the Commercial and Industrial Districts are now complete. Now, I have some terrible light to shed. Soon before this very moment, 300 players were suddenly ejected from our supervision. Every record now only shows 49,700 players, in any state. As such, we can only presume them dead.”

Players gasped, cupped their mouths with their hands, and bowed their heads. Some began to cry, knowing they had possibly lost their companions.

“We will not allow this to continue. You have untapped powers in your arsenal. What we have been hiding from you, is what you are. Every last one of us is a cyborg, what we call a mimeosome. The adrenaline you feel during battle, the same kind used to unleash the most powerful Arts, can be directed to your electronic components, enhancing your speed, strength, defenses, and turning you into a super soldier for a limited time. Something we call Overdrive. Please do not hesitate to use this tool against any hostiles you face on Mira. Thank you for your time, and thank you for your service.”

 

**In the real world**

 

A TV left on, forgotten in a dark room, displayed a news program. There was a reporter on the scene of a burning hospital. Public services were doing all they could to contain the damage, putting out fires and retrieving bodies.

“We're on the scene at Aizawa Hospital, the site of a tragic bombing. Out of 376 patients, there were 300 casualties, and many more to staff members and visiting family. Investigators are working to discover the culprits behind this heinous act. More info as the story develops, only on JNN.”

 


End file.
